According to the Draft State Capital Budget for 2026, municipalities in northern Montenegro will once again face what local officials describe as a “neglectful attitude” from the government. Commenting on the draft, the Mayor of Bijelo Polje, Petar Smolović, criticized the allocation of funds, saying it clearly shows how the north continues to be treated in national budgeting.
“I would like to thank the Ministry of Education for showing once again that kindergartens and schools in Bijelo Polje are not a priority — nor are the three long-delayed sports halls in Nedakusi, Njegnjevo, and Nikoljac. I also thank the Ministry of Health for praising the Bijelo Polje hospital while failing to allocate funds for its expansion, even though Bijelo Polje is the only city in Montenegro whose emergency service has not been renovated, despite more than two million tourists passing through it each year on their way south,” Smolović stated.
He added that the north of the country continues to lack government support and concrete investments, while millions of euros are being allocated to projects such as the planned national data center in Podgorica, valued at €300 million.
“It is interesting that as many as 15 municipalities — about 60 percent — did not even apply for projects under the state capital investment program. The question arises: have these municipalities stopped expecting government support, or have they simply lost trust in the fair distribution of funds? What we expect from the government is simple — to complete the ongoing capital projects in the north: the Đalovića Cave and Cmiljača ski resort on Bjelasica, as well as the Šrdjevac–Sušica road, which would connect the Pešter plateau with Montenegro. And we ask that it stop distracting us with imaginary ‘data centers’ worth €300 million, whose benefits the citizens of the north will never feel,” concluded the Mayor of Bijelo Polje.
