DPM Simović in Andrijevica: Everything is ready to start building House of Fruit and new bottling factory

Andrijevica, Montenegro (8 December 2017) -- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Milutin Simović announced today in Andrijevica that conditions for starting the construction of the House of Fruit are created, which will contribute to the further development of Andrijevica and the North. A significant contribution in this direction will be given by a new factory for bottling water from the source "Ice source", Sjenožita, a concession contract for which was signed today.

"We are together today as well, in Andrijevica, with the host – Mayor and his associates, with valuable producers and entrepreneurs. Today, we have gathered together by the aspiration for progress and the projects that we will realise together. These are good news that we are especially happy about, because they contribute to the development of the North and bring new jobs," DPM Simović said.

The Government of Montenegro will finance the construction of the House of Fruits, an investment worth EUR 1.33 million, with Capital Budget funds, EUR 510 thousand from which was earmarked for this purpose in 2018. The facility will be built by the company "Neimar Engineering" from Podgorica, which was recently selected as the best bidder on the tender, and representatives of the company "Arhing Inžinjering" presented today in Andrijevica the conceptual architectural and urban design of the House of Fruit.

DPM Simović estimated that the House of Fruit facility would be harmoniously incorporated into a natural environment, and that a special symbolism has the conversion of former military objects into the economic ones of a wider character. He recalled in that sense a similar project in the field of agriculture, which made Montenegro richer for one of the largest and most modern wine cellars in Europe – Šipčanik.

As he pointed out, this project will contribute to meeting the standards of competitiveness, quality and food safety, which are necessary for a sustainable presence in an increasingly demanding market.

The implementation of the second project – the construction of a factory for bottling water from the source "Ice spring" – Sjenožita, at the foot of the Komovi mountain at an altitude of 1200 meters, means the best use of the vast water resources of Andrijevica, which will bring new jobs, DPM Simović said after signing a concession contract with a representative of the concessionaire of the company "Vila Mir" from Kotor.

The concession contract was signed for a period of 25 years, and the total value of this investment is more than one million euros. According to the investment programme, 24 new jobs will be opened in this factory.

On this occasion, DPM Simović pointed to two key issues and challenges in the field of water bottling: how to substitute the annual import of bottled water from almost EUR 9 million and how to increase exports to regional and wider markets.