After the Government invited all municipalities to nominate projects for potential investments from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), responses from local governments are coming at different rates - some have already submitted proposals, others have not yet, while some municipalities, especially in the north, say they do not have the capacity for large projects.
Among the concrete proposals and ideas are tourism and infrastructure projects such as the development of a ski resort on Bjelasica, an airport in Berane, the construction of a large tourist complex in the Montepranzo area in Tivat, the valorization of Bogićevica, Jelovica, Sinjajevina...
Prime Minister Milojko Spajic announced to local government leaders this week that the UAE, through the company "Emaar" and its owner Mohamed Alabara, could invest up to 30 billion euros in Montenegro and invited them to nominate projects. Spajić's cabinet emphasizes that there are no specific locations where the Arab investor would invest, except that he is interested in one project in the south and one in the north.
However, the question remains how attractive the projects and ideas of the municipalities are to Alabaru, who, according to the President of the Municipality of Tivat, Željko Komnenović, is looking for space to implement a tourism project "even bigger than Luštica Bay", and such investments, he claims, are only possible in locations like Velika Plaza or Buljarica.
""As far as I understand from the conversations that I and my other colleagues, the presidents of coastal municipalities, have had with the Prime Minister, he is interested exclusively in building a large project for a new tourist city in Montenegro, something like the Luštica Bay complex in Tivat, only bigger. However, we no longer have the spatial capacity for something like that because such a large project in Montenegro could be implemented in only two locations - Ulcinj's Velika Plaza or in Buljarica in the Budva municipality," Komnenović pointed out.
Yesterday, in the UAE, Spajić signed agreements on economic cooperation with the UAE and on cooperation in the field of tourism and real estate development, which are the basis for investments from that country in Montenegro.
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The Municipality of Ulcinj and part of the public opposed the idea of giving Alabar a 99-year lease on the entire area of Velika Plaza, where a large tourist complex would be built. They did not formally submit a bid, and the Mayor of the Municipality Genzi Nimanbeg said they needed a bridge on the Bojana River, a marina for which he had done a feasibility study, a highway...
More ideas than concrete projects
The Municipality of Tivat will nominate a project to the Government to build a large sports-recreational-tourist complex on the site of the former Montepranzo agricultural estate near the Tivat airport.
"This is a project on almost a million square meters of land, which is of great importance for Tivat and could contribute to significantly improving the local offer and extending the duration of the tourist season in that city, because it is complementary to the already existing tourist and transport facilities in the smallest municipality on the Boka Bay - primarily Tivat Airport," Komnenović pointed out.
This local government project is currently at the idea level and, says Komnenović, "there are adequate basic assumptions" for it in the current spatial planning documentation.
The Municipality of Bijelo Polje told "Vijesti" that they have nominated the location of Đalovića Cave, the ski resorts on Bjelasica and Berane Airport, while the local government of Bar has nominated three projects - container terminals, the construction of a hotel on an urban plot within the Topolica DUP and the airport.
Local governments in Plužine and Šavnik did not nominate any projects. President of the Municipality of Šavnik Jugoslav Jakić believes that small municipalities cannot do this, nor do they have the potential for large projects.
"We only sent the Government the potentials where we could invest, and this relates to energy and tourism potential," Jakić briefly told "Vijesti".
The local government in Mojkovac has listed projects for potential investment by investors from the UAE as developing tourism infrastructure on Bjelasica, specifically at the Žarski ski resort, in which the state has invested several million euros so far. They explained that the project would include “the construction of gondolas, the completion of cable cars, the construction of tourist resorts and supporting infrastructure, which would significantly increase the attractiveness of this region for domestic and foreign tourists.”
In addition, Mojkovac has the idea of building luxury hotels and tourist complexes in Podbišće, where the Municipality has 100.000 square meters of land. The third project, in which the local government sees an opportunity for investment, is the restoration and construction of the medieval town of Brskovo. As explained by the Municipality, the preparation of project documentation for this project is in the final phase.
Investments would revive the economy
President of Berane Municipality Djole Lutovac He said that they proposed the Jelovica location, taking into account planning documents, as well as the area of the Berane side of Bjelasica, including the airport in the entire project, recognizing this moment as an opportunity for the revitalization of the airport.
"We believe that Berane, as the geographical center of the northeastern part of Montenegro, is an ideal climate for investing in this type of mountain tourism, taking into account that 40% of the territory of Bjelasica is located in the territory of the Municipality of Berane, and that it is surrounded by mountains such as Mokra, Cmiljevica, and Komovi and Prokletije are also nearby. The second, key reason is the transport infrastructure, starting with the highway that will be built in the next few years, which will open Berane to the central and southern parts of the country and become an easily accessible destination. Furthermore, the airport, which can have multiple functions in this project idea, starting with commercial flights, to the helipad at the airport itself and Jelovica," said Lutovac.
He emphasized that if Alabar decides to invest in northern Montenegro, they hope it will be Bjelasica and the Berane part of that mountain, and the arrival of an investor of such caliber would completely revive the Berane economy, which would further develop rapidly at the expense of that investment.
"The most important thing is that, in addition to having a positive impact on finances, we are certain that such an investment would also have a positive impact on the demographic picture of our Municipality, which we see as appalling. Due to all of the above, our position and conclusion is that such investments are more than welcome in Berane, we fully support the Prime Minister in attracting such investments and we hope that the location of the investments will be our Berane," said Lutovac.
They see room for investment by investors from the UAE in the Kolašin municipality in a comprehensive project proposal, which is tentatively named “Bjelasica 365”. This implies, as they explain, further tourist valorization of the mountain, which will rely on and be carefully linked to the existing capacities of the state and private ski resort, the future gondola, as well as other tourist capacities. The name of the project refers to the goal of a year-round tourist offer, as well as the diversification of the Kolašin tourist product. Within the framework of this idea, zones near the gondola stations have been identified as suitable locations for expanding tourist development. The idea is also linked to numerous projects that are being implemented or planned in the city. The municipality claims that, within the framework of the “Bjelasica 365” project, the connection of tourism and agriculture has been carefully and sustainably planned. The tourist valorization of Sinjavina has also been proposed for potential investments by investors from the UAE.
Bogićevica deserves state investment
President of the Municipality of Plav Nihad Canović He told "Vijesti" that they proposed Mount Bogićevica as a location with exceptional potential for the development of winter and summer tourism.
"We believe that this region and this mountain deserve stronger support and investment from the state. The planning documents, as well as the property and legal status, represent a good basis for the development of this investment, which would significantly contribute to the development of the north and the improvement of living standards. The concrete implementation will depend on the willingness of investors, but also on the existence of positive legal solutions that would enable sustainable and responsible development of this area," said Canović.
Kotor has nothing to offer the Arabs.
President of the Municipality of Kotor Vladimir Jokic He told "Vijesti" that the municipality "has nothing to offer of the magnitude that would interest investors from the UAE."
"However, despite this, we will certainly send the Government more ideas in the coming days about possible smaller investment projects that are primarily related to land in private, rather than state or Kotor Municipality, ownership," Jokić pointed out.
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