An empty parking lot, a collapsed and crooked prefabricated building to the left of the entrance and a locked restaurant, a fence in the middle covered with vegetation and sand, they said it all - the once famous "Tropikana" on Velika Plaza, one of the first leased beaches in Montenegro, is completely unprepared to welcome tourists on the eve of the peak season.
On the left side, there are about 50 umbrellas without deck chairs, the buried poles in the middle guarantee that there will soon be at least twice as many, but the beach has no safety buoys in the sea, paths on the sand, safety observation posts, a beach bar, or anything else that would indicate that it will be an exemplary space, as announced by the new tenant - an Arab billionaire. Mohamed Alabar.
It's similar on the "Imperial" beach, except that there are still no umbrellas or beach workers there. Everything is reminiscent of the 1980s and 1990s, when private umbrellas, hand-held coolers and towels were "brought" to the beach. There are also collapsed lifeguard observation posts on the beach, and they now serve as good shade for guests.
The "Tropicana" and "Imperial" swimming pools are managed by the "Eagle Hills" company as of this season. Mohamed Alabara.
Morsko dobro and Alabar are silent.
Public Company "Vijesti" did not receive answers to the questions why the "Tropikana" and "Imperial" swimming pools have not yet been put into operation, even though the peak season is approaching, by when the tenants must put the swimming pools into operation this year, and whether the Public Company could terminate the contract with Eagle Hills if the swimming pools are not soon repaired and safe for visitors.
No answers were received from the PR department of Alabaro's company, and we asked them why the two swimming pools are not in operation despite the concluded contracts and whether it is true that "Eagle Hills" had to take over the two swimming pools because one former tenant did not want to pay the guarantees while the other did not submit complete documentation, and therefore was not ranked. The question of whether the company returned half of the guarantees paid to the former tenants as a sign of goodwill also remained unanswered.
The PE previously announced that the bank guarantees of "Eagle Hills" for nine beaches on Velika Plaza amount to 600 thousand euros. According to information from "Vijesti", for some of them the guarantees amounted to more than 100 thousand euros.
According to the same information, Alabaro's company concluded a lease agreement for the "Tropikana" beach, one of the first officially registered since Morsko dobro began renting out the coast for use. Alabaro's company never denied this. At that time, the fate of the "Imperial" beach was still uncertain.
The PE claims that the tender procedure was conducted entirely legally and transparently, without unrealistically high or fictitious bids being submitted.
"This has fulfilled all the conditions for, in the event of the first-placed bidder withdrawing, to proceed smoothly with the conclusion of the contract with the second-ranked participants. At the same time, the procedure for activating the bank guarantees submitted by the Eagle Hills company, in the total amount of approximately 600.000 euros, will be initiated, thus ensuring the protection of the public interest and responsible management of state resources," the PE said at the time.
How can it be arranged?
In mid-May, Alabar admitted that he had made a mistake by applying for the tender for the lease of beaches in Ulcinj, but he also explained his reasons for such a decision.
"I wanted to get a swimming area on Velika Plaza to show the public how that space could be developed," the Arab investor said at the time in an interview with Newsmax Balkans television.
He also explained that after harsh public reactions, he decided to return the seven swimming pools that he had previously won in a tender in March.
However, instead of one, Alabar received two swimming pools because the second-ranked bid for "Imperial" was not complete, so it was not even considered.
In the tender of the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management (JP) in March, the company Eagle Hills competed for 19 bathing areas on Velika Plaza. It offered the highest amounts of money for nine bathing areas, but withdrew from seven in mid-June because the previous tenants, who were ranked second, agreed to pay the company's bank guarantees.
The "Adriatica", "Havana", "Safari", "Saranda", "Hills", "Coral" and "Mykonos" resorts are now almost ready to welcome guests, despite months of uncertainty about whether "Eagle Hills" will give up on them or not.
Former tenant calls inspection
Former tenant of the "Imperial" swimming pool, Arton Shala, said that the new user has not yet started work on the development of the swimming pool, although according to the Agreement on Use with the PE, he was supposed to do so a long time ago.
He showed "Vijesti" the complaint against the new beach user, which he submitted to the executive director of the JP To young Mikiel.
Shala stated in his report that the beach was completely undeveloped - without a lifeguard, without waste containers, without complete infrastructure.
"In addition, large amounts of garbage are noticeable, and visitors without any supervision light fires, make barbecues and carry out other prohibited activities. This directly threatens the safety of citizens and the natural environment," said Shala.
He therefore requested an urgent inspection.
"Therefore, I demand an urgent inspection control on the ground, the initiation of proceedings against the concessionaire for failure to fulfill the contracted obligations, and if the contract is not acted upon as soon as possible - the termination of the contract in accordance with the provisions," the letter to Mikijelj states.
He recalled that he is a long-time user of location 10Q on the Big Beach in Ulcinj, which he has continuously maintained since 2012 until the last tender, and that during that period he has invested significant funds, effort and time to make it function as a safe and high-quality swimming area.
"In the last public call, the right to use the beach was awarded to the company Eagle Hills Montenegro DOO, which offered a higher price. Although I lost the concession, I am still deeply attached to this location and concerned about its current condition and failure to act according to the contract," said Shala.
In a letter to Mikijelj, he explained why his offer was incomplete:
"The reason why my application was not considered was not of a substantive nature, but of an exclusively technical nature. Namely, the tender payment in the amount of 100 euros was made and was included in the documentation, but it was not physically attached to other documents, which led to my formal exclusion from the competition. I believe that such an omission does not diminish my many years of experience or my capacity to manage this space," Shala stated.
He assessed that the lack of maintenance at the "Imperial" swimming pool is damaging the reputation of the resort of the same name:
"Guests are used to staying at that beach. Now they are forced to choose another one, because the 'Imperial' beach does not offer a pleasant and safe stay."
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