The construction of a new city on Velika Plaza is contrary to existing planning documents as well as the Nature Protection Law, which is why the Government plans to enable its construction through a special law that would be above all other domestic laws and regulations, "Vijesti" has learned.
This lex specialis would provide the investor from the United Arab Emirates with various benefits, namely exemption from paying utility fees and part of taxes and other duties during construction, while Montenegro, namely its public companies, would also participate in part of the costs of infrastructure construction.
It would also enable 10 million square meters of space on Velika Plaza, from Port Milena to Bojana, and from the coast to the road to Ada Bojana, with the associated part of the sea, to be ceded for 99 years to the businessman's company "Emmar". Mohamed Alabara from the United Arab Emirates. According to this document, Alabar would have the option to transfer the rights to build in the leased space to other companies.
Similar to Luštica, Kumbor...
The lease agreement would be similar to those adopted in recent years, when seven million square meters of land in Luštica, the area of the former barracks in Kumbor, the area of the former military institute Arsenal in Tivat (Porto Montenegro), and Kraljičina plaza and Miločer were leased for 90 years, as well as the lease of Mamula for 49 years and Sveti Stefan for 43 years.
The adoption of this law requires a majority of MPs, that is, in order for it to be adopted, MPs from the former Democratic Front and Democrats parties, who were previously against similar long-term leases, would have to vote for it. Those earlier contracts and laws that enabled these long-term leases were voted for by MPs from the then government, DPS, SD, and minority parties, among which were representatives of Albanian parties who are now opposed to a similar deal in an environment where they are the majority.
The basis for the adoption of this law will be an intergovernmental agreement between Montenegro and the United Arab Emirates, parts of which were published on the Government's website yesterday.
Most of the space for residential construction
Businessman Alabar's plan, which was partially presented at a recent meeting of the Prime Ministers Milojko Spajić and representatives of the Municipality of Ulcinj, envisages the construction of real estate on the entire beach area and in its immediate hinterland. These include ten "seven-star" hotels, large marinas and aqua parks, business premises and shopping malls..., but most of the area is planned for the construction of three large residential complexes with tens of thousands of villas, apartments and flats intended for sale.
According to the presentation, the total investment would be “30+” billion, while infrastructure construction is estimated at 20 billion.
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" said that after the adoption of the law and the conclusion of the lease agreement, special construction permits would be issued, after which the construction of the infrastructure would begin immediately. According to the current agreements, the state and its companies would build the necessary infrastructure at their own expense up to the border of Velika Plaza, that is, to the location that will be leased. The investor would build the network of this infrastructure within the lease zone at their own expense, but would have the right to be the only one to use it, or to cede it to their buyers and tenants.
Construction would take ten years, beach out of service
The investor would use all of its resources to complete the project as soon as possible, but even according to optimistic forecasts, the construction of the infrastructure and the entire complex would take ten years. During that period, a significant part of Velika Plaza would not be in use by swimmers and guests.
According to the current guidelines of the Special Purpose Spatial Plan for the Coastal Area, which was adopted in 2018 and is still in force, only about ten percent of the area of Velika Plaza would be suitable for construction, the remaining part would be the beach area itself, green areas, and a protected area.
In this entire area of ten million square meters, according to current plans, it is possible to build luxury hotels, camps and bungalows in very narrow strips, with a total of 30 thousand beds. One third of the total area, the southern part towards the Bojana and Ada rivers, is a strictly protected area as a nature reserve and has had this status since 1968.
In 2023, a draft State Study of the location “Part of Sector 66 – Modules II, III and VI” was prepared for the largest part of the Velika Plaza area. It envisages the construction of luxury hotels, bungalows, villas and camps, and sports facilities, where the maximum area under the buildings would be 404 thousand square meters, while the minimum area under greenery and protected areas would be 8,7 million square meters.
The construction of residential buildings is now limited only to the part of this area where agriculture is planned, up to a maximum of 200 square meters per agricultural property.
Candidate for EMERALD and Natura2000
According to all spatial plans and studies for Velika Plaza in the last 20 years, all governments in that period have sought to ensure the protection of Velika Plaza and to nominate it for the international protected areas EMERALD and Natura2000, with the aim of organizing tourism in this area in harmony with nature. The study predicts that there should be 100 square meters of green space per bed. Velika Plaza is now a candidate for membership in these protected areas.
The current plan envisages that the construction of tourist facilities on Velika Plaza will be financed by utilities, and these would amount to 115 million euros during the construction of this small number of currently planned facilities. The construction of all these facilities would cost 2,5 billion according to an estimate from 2023.
Even this small number of luxury hotels would be profitable, according to the authors of the strategy, because the estimated annual revenue is 795 million euros, while the net profit would be 350 million euros, meaning that this investment would pay off in seven years.
However, the new investor will be able to build facilities that will be ten times larger in area than currently planned, and the main income will come from the sale of real estate.
Extraordinary session of the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly
An extraordinary session of the Ulcinj Municipal Assembly (MA) with only one agenda item: "Information on the adoption of the Proposal for the Basis for Negotiations and Conclusion of the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism and Real Estate Development between the Government of Montenegro and the Government of the United Arab Emirates" will be held today.
The session, convened by the President of the Municipal Assembly Ivana Popović, comes at a time of disagreement between the tenants and the local community with the Government's intention to lease Velika Plaža for 99 years to the company "Eagle Hills Properties", which is owned by the well-known investor Mohamed Alabar from the United Arab Emirates.
Spajić saw a city on the beach two years ago
The interlocutor of "Vijesti" says that contacts about this project began three years ago when Spajić was Minister of Finance, with the mediation of Serbian Finance Minister Siniša Mali, and that contacts and agreements have intensified since the election of the new Government a year ago.
Alabar's company is building the "Belgrade on the Water" project in Belgrade, based on a similar principle to interstate agreements, where the investor is exempt from paying utilities, part of the taxes, and infrastructure construction costs.
Four days ago, when asked whether he had convinced the authorities in Ulcinj of this project and why Alabar was at a meeting with the President of the Municipality of Ulcinj, Gencij Nimanbegu, Spajić stated that "Alabar was passing through and was going to Hvar, where he owns 80 percent of the hotels."
Two years ago, in April 2023, Spajić, while guesting on the podcast "DisKrimiNacija" of the NGO Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS), spoke about his visions for the development of Montenegro and said: "I see a city being formed on Velika Plaza, I see the Central Business District Ćemovsko Polje, I see Europe Now 2...".
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