Nezavršena teniska arena za “Srpska open” guta nove milione

08.05.2023. / 16:07

BANJALUKA – Tens of millions of public money were non-transparently invested in the construction of the arena for the “Serbian Open” tennis tournament, and it is currently gaping empty without a clear plan from the City for its future use.

Photo credit: Capital.ba

In addition, the latest information shows that a large part of the work on it has not been completed, which means that costs will continue to rise.

The tennis tournament ended a little more than two weeks ago and the central arena, the construction of which caused a great controversy in the public, is locked.

This does not worry the mayor, Draško Stanivuković, who says that the City of Banjaluka manages this facility and that the City will maintain the infrastructure and make decisions about its future.

We know that we have 5,000 square meters of space

However, he could not specify exactly what the plan was.

“It’s no secret that we firstly prepared that facility for tennis, and secondly we know that we have 5,000 square meters of space. We didn’t get to build a gym until the tournament, which was our plan. We need to create a space for karate and table tennis, and the plan is to equip that space for fitness and pilates.”he said without specifying how much it will all cost.

He added that the City received initiatives to hold a certain number of events in and around the arena in May, and some in the summer.

“We asked for estimates to be submitted that will show how much the movable roof for the arena will cost. In addition, we expect to receive an answer about the further future of the tournament for 2024 by autumn. All of these are factors that influence what our next steps will be”Stanivuković said.

The organizers of the tournament promised that the public would be informed about the money that was invested in this tournament, but that still hasn’t happened. Stanivuković says that the City of Banjaluka has no problem paying the bills to the public.

“We need to have a press conference where we will talk about the costs, whether it will be organized by the Tensiki Association of the RS, the City or the Government of the RS, that can be decided”he said and added that when it comes to Banjaluka, the calculation is clear.

“The city of Banjaluka invested 15 million KM, and in seven days in the city we had a turnover of 41 million KM”, he said and added that this investment paid off and was justified.

“After that, we were left with the hall and the roundabout and everything that was done in that space”he said.

He compared investigations to a fly

He also referred to the report by Transparency International BiH because the Law on Public Procurement was not followed during the construction of this field, as well as the fact that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the construction of this field.

“For me, applications are like a fly landing on my shoulder, I don’t feel them, I don’t band and I don’t care, because I am sure of the work I do and that it is the safest and most dedicated and at this moment the best possible for the City and the RS”he stated and added that others should do their work”.

He said that the media “made” pompous headlines related to the work of the prosecution and that there were no searches.

“We have received several inquiries as to whether this is a regular job for us from the Agency for Public Procurement of BIH or some other institution”he said.

We remind you, the portal CAPITAL months ago he wrote about irregularities related to the construction of the tennis complex where the ATP 250 tournament “Serbian Open” took place.

In the texts, we warned about the lack of necessary permits, regulatory plan and non-transparency in the selection of contractors. The contractors were chosen by the RS Tennis Association, which was done with the aim of circumventing the Law on Public Procurement.

CAPITAL: Vesna Popović