The owner of one of the best water sources, Kolašin resident Zoran Rakocevic, has recently informed the Minister of Agriculture, Petar Ivanovic, about the offer, asking that the government gets involved.
“I can now announce that the brewery project will happen in Kolasin, in cooperation with the Czech company Destila. Kolasin could also become a major distributor of the famous Czech beer, Pilsen”, said Rakocevic.
He explained Destila took water samples from his well and after analyzing it, said the beer was of superb quality. Mr. Rakocevic informed the ministry with their findings and started talks. He says he is happy with the way things are going with the Ministry, and that such project would surely be benefitial for entire Montenegro and not just the municipality of Kolasin.
However, despite the fact that foreign companies are constantly interested in investing, companies currently operating in the Kolasin area are struggling.
“Standards, the quality of equipment and services in Kolasin water bottling plants are really at the European level, but as far as water production and placement on the market is concerned, there are considerable difficulties and not much has changed in the last five years. The owners have put some factories for sale and some, such as Gorska, are leased”, said Rakocevic.
According to him, Montenegro needs to take up a more serious approach to its water resources, especially after accession to NATO because, in his opinion, local high-quality water is the only Montenegrin product that can have huge economic effects.
He says it’s high time the government got involved, and adds there needs to be a specialized agency for water resources, to support investment, provide investors and placement and, above all, consolidate manufacturers of water.
He explained Evian is an excellent example of how manufacturers, when brought together, can achieve great results.
“Because of pooling, these producers created a monopoly on the market, where they annually sell more than two billion liters of water. This system works perfectly, they each market their water, and everyone benefits, especially the country”, said Rakocevic, adding that he also spoke about the Czechs’ initiative to produce water and beer with Deputy Prime Minister, Dusko Markovic.
