President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad Aleksandar Grgurovi\u0107 expressed serious concern over the issuing of a construction permit for the construction of a 67-megawatt solar power plant, which, along with accompanying infrastructure, is expected to occupy an area larger than one million square meters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As he stated, this is a project that, due to its size, location, and possible consequences for the area, goes beyond the scope of a single investment and requires the full attention of experts and the wider public. Of particular concern is the fact that the project is being carried out in the immediate vicinity of Ostrog Monastery, one of the most significant cultural, historical, and spiritual symbols of Montenegro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“If the state was ready to approve such a project without first eliminating every reasonable doubt regarding the protection of cultural heritage, then the question rightly arises as to whether the institutions involved in this process protected the public interest or pushed it into the background. Cultural heritage is not an administrative obstacle to development\u2014it is a constitutional, legal, and civilizational obligation of the state,” said the President of the Municipality of Danilovgrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasized that Danilovgrad is not against investment in renewable energy sources or against the energy transition, which represents a strategic interest of Montenegro, but believes that no development goal can justify neglecting the state’s obligation to protect cultural heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“When there is even the slightest doubt that a project could harm an area of national historical, cultural, and spiritual significance, the state’s duty is not to speed up procedures, but to demonstrate the highest level of caution, expertise, and responsibility. A state that easily allows interventions in areas belonging to the cultural identity of all citizens does not show strength, but institutional weakness and a lack of understanding of the values it is obligated to preserve,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to him, this is not a question of the investor or daily politics, but of the state’s basic responsibility toward its own heritage. Although the planned solar power plant is not located within the territory of the Municipality of Danilovgrad, its potential impact cannot be viewed solely through administrative boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Space does not follow administrative logic. Cultural landscapes, natural areas, and views form a unique system of values that does not end at the border of one municipality. Therefore, the citizens of Danilovgrad have every right to be informed about all the circumstances under which the decision to issue the construction permit was made,” Grgurovi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled that Ostrog Monastery represents one of the key places of Montenegro’s cultural, historical, and spiritual identity, whose significance has long exceeded the boundaries of a single religious complex and location. Any intervention in its wider spatial environment, he emphasized, requires the highest level of professional and institutional responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to him, publicly available documentation also examined the visual impact of the planned power plant, including the possibility that the complex could be visible from the road used to access Ostrog Monastery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That circumstance alone raises the question of how the overall impact of the project on the cultural landscape was assessed and whether the competent institutions thoroughly considered the consequences that such an intervention could cause,” Grgurovi\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasized that he was not making conclusions in advance nor disputing the investor’s right to develop projects in accordance with the law, but that the public must receive complete information when it concerns an area that represents part of the identity of the entire country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He requested that the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, as well as all institutions involved in the process, state whether a special assessment of the possible impact of the project on a cultural asset of national importance and its wider spatial context was carried out before issuing the construction permit, and whether the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Properties participated in the process and provided an appropriate opinion or approval within its legal authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n