"...How can anyone buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the earth? That thought is foreign to us. We do not possess the purity of the air or the reflection in the water. How can you buy that from us? All this land is sacred to the people. Every sparkling pine needle, every grain of sand on the riverbank, every mist in the dark forests, every twinkle and every bug, are sacred in the tradition and consciousness of my people..." (From a letter from the Seattle Indian chief, sent to US President Frank Pierce in 1854, in response to an offer for the US to purchase the Indians' land - in exchange for a reservation)
In response to the public call by JP Morsko dobro for the lease of beaches for bathing areas on Velika plaža in Ulcinj, a billionaire from the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed Alabar, founder of the company "Emaar Properties" and president of the company "Eagle Hills Properties", applied, who registered the company "Eagle Hills Montenegro" in Podgorica within the extended deadline for opening bids on March 06, 2025. He leased 9 out of 19 bathing areas, for which he submitted a bid worth a total of 1,85 million euros. Given that Mr. Alabar deals with investments, and birds on a branch, it was clear that something big was "rolling around the hill". News soon leaked that the sheikh was interested in the entire Velika plaža, on which he would build the "Ulcinj Dubai", "Belgrade on the Water" or something similar. The Montenegrin public is aware that, in the last ten years or more, the current and two or three previous prime ministers have visited the UAE for various reasons. Each, except for Prof. Krivokapić, was ready to develop the tourism industry, by selling and renting out the most attractive parts of our dear Montenegro, primarily locations on the coast.
It is well known to the public that Prime Minister Spajić, using the "paff-paff" method, bid with figures ranging from 20, 25, 30 to the famous 35 billion euros, which the beach tenant from the UAE would be willing to invest in Velika Plaza and thus "bring Montenegro and Ulcinj a huge annual profit", which confirmed the suspicions of citizens that the deal was secretly negotiated in advance, and that the tender for the beach lease was extended so that the Eagle Hills company could register in Montenegro. For example, the entire Montenegrin economy was estimated at 1998 billion US dollars in 4,5! While Mr. Alabar was walking around Montenegro and appearing on television, one of which featured him in a song, protests against the sale of parts of Montenegro took place, and, at the same time, unusual and accelerated activities by representatives of the Government and Parliament, who took care to prepare agreements with the UAE and accompanying laws, according to which the "Alabarization" of Montenegro would be official, with an emphasis on Ulcinj's Great Beach?! The people of Ulcinj are firmly on the defense of the wealth that nature has given them and their ancestors left behind, in which they are supported by all opponents of the destruction of Montenegrin beauties and the concreting of the rest of our Adriatic coast.
I think it's good that Alabar denied the Prime Minister's 35 billion and spoke about the first, possible, investments of around 2,5 billion euros. Sheikh's stories about investments "according to the will of the local population, which have a soul" are not to be believed, as evidenced by his ongoing investments, "Belgrade on the Water" and the investment in Durres, which is popularly called the "Monaco on the Adriatic". Alabar's projects in Serbia and Albania are being done using a copy-paste approach, as experts on the situation in the field say. There is a lot of talk and a lot of knowledge about "Belgrade on the Water", because the investment contract was signed 10 years ago. The construction will last 30 years, and 50 percent of the investment must be realized in the first 20 years. In Albania, the opposition is not satisfied with the way the investment in Durres, which is estimated at 3,5 billion euros, is being realized. Former president Ilir Meta believes that "this is a money laundering scheme," while Alabara, who is called "Rama's Sheikh" in Albania, welcomed Edi Rama with open arms (forbes.n1info.rs).
The Arab "colonizer" of the Balkans, in 2019, in agreement with the then mayor of Zagreb, now former mayor Milan Bandić, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and secretly negotiated the "Zagreb Manhattan" investment, worth several billion euros. Urban planners, architects, civic activists and citizens of Zagreb rose to their feet, and after Bandić's death (in 2021), the project, which was considered non-transparent, corrupt and potentially detrimental to the public interest, was suspended. Although he prefers real estate development, Alabar bought the hotel companies Sunčani Hvar and Sunce hotels in Croatia, which manage tourist facilities in multiple locations. In Budapest, he competed for the location of the Rakosrendezo railway junction near the Danube and Margitsiget Island, which, according to Hungarian media and reported by n1ifo.rs, the mayor of Budapest was horrified. He negotiated with the government, and the leaders of the municipality that manages the area said they knew nothing about it. Apart from the fact that Sheikh Alabar likes to negotiate in secret, each Balkan Eagle Hills has a separate owner in the UAE. A member of the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Damir Nikšić, has made claims that “the demolition of the Skenderija Cultural and Sports Center is planned, and that skyscrapers of a new business center should be built.” It is assumed that the investor who is building “Belgrade on the Water” is behind this (Forbes BiH, Forbes Croatia).
Mohamed Alabar, obviously, knows well the natural beauties of the Balkans and the mentality of Balkan politicians, who put profit above their homeland! When an investor feigns emotions, it is a mockery of the hosts in their faces. If, however, he is in the mood for entertainment, we recommend that he, together with his Balkan friends, listen to the song "Hey Sheki, Sheki", with a note to remember the chorus well!
Bonus video:
