Local businessman wins lease for Shtip municipal indoor pool opened less than a year ago
The pool opened on 23 September 2025; a firm linked to Milan Dimitrovski was registered on 17 October 2025 and will manage the facility under a two‑year lease with strict investment and pricing conditions.
A local entrepreneur, Milan Dimitrovski, owner of the company Hamachi, has been granted the lease to operate the newly opened indoor pool in Shtip. The facility will be run by a company called Empira Management and Consulting, a firm formed by Dimitrovski after the pool's opening.
Timeline and corporate setup
The indoor pool, which had been under construction for more than five years, was officially opened on 23 September 2025 — roughly three weeks before the local elections. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, MP Nikola Micevski and other senior VMRO-DPMNE officials attended the inauguration.
Empira Management and Consulting was registered on 17 October 2025, less than a month after the pool was put into use. This month the company established a subsidiary named "Indoor Pool Shtip" whose declared primary activity is operation of sports facilities.
Asked about the new arrangement, Dimitrovski said: "We'll see how the work will go, I would not speak about it now. I am a socially responsible businessman who wants such investments to function properly for the community."
The municipality announced in April that the pool would be leased for two years. Under the published terms, the monthly rent was set at 152,320 denars. The rules also capped the admission price at 1,000 denars for children and 4,000 denars for adults.
The lease obliges the operator to replace pumps with high-efficiency heat pumps, invest in the pool's energy system to cut electricity consumption by half, introduce electronic ticket sales with electronic records, maintain hygiene standards and keep the pool open 24/7. The municipality, in turn, will cover utility costs, spare parts and materials for ongoing maintenance. At the opening last year mayor Ivan Jordanov presented the pool as a facility that would be used by pupils from Shtip schools. The municipal administration did not reply to questions about which company would run the pool and the precise rental arrangements.
Photo: press material from the event
