"Massacre", this is the word used by the president of the Ulcinj Beach Tenants Association, Prelja Škrelja, to describe the events at today's public auction in the premises of the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management in Budva for the lease of a beach in the southernmost municipality, especially on Velika Plaza.
The reason for this assessment is that the company "Eagle Hills Montenegro", backed by Arab capital, made the highest financial offers for more than ten beaches on Velika Plaza.
According to information from "Vijesti", which was confirmed by Škrelja, these are the iconic beaches "Saranda", "Adritaica", "Imeprial", "Hill", "Mojito", "Habana", "Safari", "Tropikana", "Koral", part of "Pearle Beach", "Barbose".
"This is not remembered, a company with absolutely dubious guarantees and incomplete documentation, taking people's bread, a family business. I do not believe that this is the final decision, it must fall. And it is not true that our tenants are semi-mafia, as the Minister of Spatial Planning Slaven Radunović claims. Such vocabulary about family people is primitive and uncivilized. The state should protect its citizens, not present them in this way. Shameful," Škrelja said in an official statement to "VIjesti".
The company "Eagle Hills Montenegro" was registered on March 6th in Podgorica at the address Jola Piletića 18 under the activity code "development of construction projects".
"Eagle Hills" is a private construction company from Abu Dhabi, specializing in construction and real estate investments, and was building the elite settlement "Belgrade on the Water". According to the website of the Belgrade company "Belgrade Waterfront" (BW), the president of "Eagle Hills" is Mohamed Alabar.
"Specializing in the construction of modern city centers and premium destinations in new markets, the company has become an international symbol of quality, investment and prestige. Eagle Hills initiates major development projects by designing and building mixed-use facilities that stimulate and diversify the local economy, create new jobs, attract domestic and foreign investment and promote business and tourism development. The company promotes the realization of a premium lifestyle through the design and implementation of modern city amenities, including residential and commercial buildings, hospitality, shopping centers, retail and healthcare."
In November 2023, the "Forbes Serbia" portal published an article titled Alabar Believes in the Region - Copy Serbia, Paste Albania, and Further to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary...
"Mohamed Alabar recently intrigued the Croatian public because he signed a contract to take over the successful tourism company Sunčani Hvar, and it is known that he also tried to build a controversial project called "Zagreb's Manhattan" with the former mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić. The latest acquisition attempt in Croatia, the purchase of the company Sunčani Hvar for more than 200 million euros, shows that he believes in the potential of the region. In Croatia, he already owns the company Sunce Hoteli, also a company that manages tourist facilities in several locations, for which he paid more than 100 million euros, according to Croatian media. The only, but important, difference compared to other projects that he is developing or wants to develop in other parts of the region is that he has bought "ready-made" companies in Croatia, set on their own feet, which are operating successfully and will now positively contribute to his already quite diverse business portfolio," the text reads.
It is further stated that "he opened the doors to the region with the Belgrade Waterfront project, then he had an unsuccessful attempt in Zagreb, and after that he saw the potential in the development of the port of Durres in Albania. And Serbia, Albania and Croatia could be joined by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Hungary."
"The lack of transparency in the business ventures that the local authorities are trying to implement with Alabbar has led the media, politicians and the public to various theories that even go as far as saying that he is just a cover for investments in which the owner of the money is someone else, but there is still no evidence for this. But why would someone who built the Burj Khalifa (the tallest skyscraper in Dubai, ed.) and most of Dubai have to do this? It is hard not to wonder why someone would not wholeheartedly accept business opportunities in which leaders, hungry for opportunities to promote themselves to voters, offer large areas of the most attractive land, expedited procedures for obtaining permits, tax breaks and other good opportunities for profit. Almost as a rule, these are leaders who show the success of a government in square meters, kilometers and other units of measurement. What Alabbar offers them is the only thing they do not have, and that is mega projects," the text states.
Zagreb Manhattan
The text states that Zagreb Manhattan is a project that the former mayor of the Croatian capital, Milan Bandić, wanted to implement with Alabaro.
"He envisioned a similar model as in Belgrade, where the city would provide 1,1 million square meters of land, or 110 hectares, along the Sava River, while Alabaro's company Eagle Hills would develop a large-scale business and residential complex. Although there was talk in Zagreb that it would be the city's new business center, the "buyers" did not buy the story, so strong civic and political opposition managed to prevent changes to the General Urban Plan of Zagreb, and the project did not progress beyond a non-binding Memorandum of Cooperation," the text reads.
"Forbes Serbia" points out that it is evident that Alabar uses a similar business organization model by establishing a company called Eagle Hills, which is owned by a company registered in the United Arab Emirates. And it is interesting that each Balkan Eagle Hills has a separate owner in the UAE. The Croatian Eagle Hills is owned by the company Eagle Hills Croatia Properties – sole proprietorship LLC from Abu Dhabi",
Rama's "Sheikh"
"Alabar was warmly welcomed in Serbia and Albania. And there are so many similarities between the two projects that we can say that a copy-paste approach was applied. In both countries, the highest officials took a stand for the project. In Serbia, Alabar was personally hosted several times by President Aleksandar Vučić, while in Albania, the greatest admirer of the character and work of the Arab investor is Prime Minister Edi Rama. The Albanian public even gave Alabar the nickname "Rama's Sheikh". It all started with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, and on that occasion, the Prime Minister used the terms "dear friend" and "brotherhood", and praised the "fantastic design", the impact on increasing the value of real estate for the citizens of Durres, and the construction of the largest tourist marina in the Mediterranean. It can be said that a tried and tested recipe from Belgrade was applied. First, effective computer renderings of numerous buildings and a large port that will be able to accommodate 1.000 yachts.
Then it continues with what was seen in Serbia. Alabar, along with the highest representative of the state, tours the model of the project. And finally, a website has been launched where you can already express interest in purchasing apartments in buildings that have not yet reached the foundation. But, behind the decor, there are more important challenges. According to available information, the project will be developed by Eagle Hills Real Estate Development, the Albanian version of Eagle Hills (originally named Symphony real estate development). The first owner of the company was Symphony Invest Limited, which transferred ownership to North East Real Estate Holdings Limited from Abu Dhabi. And as for ownership, the same thing was done as in Serbia. The Arab partner and the Albanian state created a joint company in 2021, in which ownership was divided in an identical ratio - 67 percent went to Eagle Hills, and 33 percent to the state, or rather the state-owned port development company," the text reads.
It further states that the project has been granted strategic investment status as an integrated tourism project of strategic importance for the state (the decision was made by the Strategic Investment Commission headed by Rama).
"It met that criterion because it is worth more than two billion euros and announces the employment of 12.000 people, and the status of strategic investment will be achieved for seven years. As in the case of Serbia, Albania has been adopting and changing regulations with the aim of faster project implementation," the text says, among other things.
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