"Carine": The swimming pool in Baošići that we are developing is not even mentioned as potentially controversial in the UNESCO report

The company "Carine" announced today that the bathing area in Baošići, which the company is developing, is not even mentioned in the UNESCO report as a potentially controversial location.

They stated that they made this announcement following months of media coverage of the project in Baošići.

We are publishing the statement from the company "Carine" in full:

"What did the World Heritage Committee really decide?"

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee held its 48th session in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 19 to 29 July 2026. The decisions adopted at that session were published in document WHC/26/48.COM/16 of 10 August 2026.

The report is available on the official UNESCO website (https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/48COM/decisions/) as well as on the official website of the company Carine (https://www.carine.co.me/novi-projekti/projekat-baosici-dokumentacija-i-informacije/ ).

The decision relating to the Natural and Cultural-Historical Area of ​​Kotor is marked 48 COM 7B.43. In that decision, the Committee, when it comes to individual development projects, explicitly listed three projects: Jugooceania, the location of the former Fjord Hotel, and the Orahovac Hotel.

The location in Baošići, the swimming pool being developed by the company "Carine", as well as the company itself, were not mentioned in that decision not a single word, in any context, not even as potentially controversial!

In the final decision of the Committee there is no request, recommendation or remark that would refer to the suspension of works in Baošići, the removal of any structure or the return of the bathing area to its previous state. There is no expression "devastation" or "concreting", or any formulation of similar meaning.

1. What follows from that?

We would like to remind you that a significant portion of media reporting was based on the draft report, namely on a paragraph that exclusively conveyed the statements of the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Property, and not the assessment or findings of UNESCO.

The company "Carine", through its authorized representatives, has submitted to the World Heritage Center complete relevant documentation, including without limitation the final and binding Building Permit No. 02-3-332-UPI-2993/2025 and four independent inspection reports of the competent authorities, drawn up both before and after the adoption of the disputed decisions of the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Property. The letter addressed to UNESCO is available in its entirety on the official website of the company Carine.

The Committee's final decision shows that the Baošići site was not recognized as an issue of importance for the protection of the Kotor area. This is especially important when considering that the Committee in the same decision specifically listed three other projects on which it is requesting additional information, or a stay of their consideration.

1. The public has been informed one-sidedly for months

For months, the Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage has led the public to believe that UNESCO is demanding the suspension of the project being developed by the company "Carine" in Baošići and the restoration of the site to its previous state. The Committee's final decision shows that this is absolutely not true.

The company "Carine" also asks the following questions, which it considers legitimate and of public importance:

• Why are the media that wrote about UNESCO calling for a halt to "concrete coasts" and a halt to "devastation of the sea" not reporting today on the contents of the final document WHC/26/48.COM/16 of August 10, 2026?

• Why do the media today, when it is clear that UNESCO does not see the project of the company "Carine" in Baošići as even potentially controversial, not publish the final decision of the Committee with the same publicity, in which Baošići is not mentioned even a word?

• If it is indisputable today, and it is, that the "Carine" company is carrying out works on the construction and development of the bathing area based on a valid and legally binding construction permit, and if it is indisputable that the World Heritage Committee has not recognized that location as problematic - who cares and for what reasons should that project be suspended?

• How much credibility can the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Montenegro have today, as an authority that has been (dis)informing the public for months with the alleged request from UNESCO to restore the bathing area in Baošići to its original condition, after a UNESCO report in which this bathing area was not even identified as potentially controversial?

• Whose interest is served by months of constant disinformation of the public?

• Who exactly is in their interest to cause property and reputational damage to a company that has been operating in accordance with the law for decades, and the project in question in Baošići is being developed based on valid permits?

The company "Carine" reiterates its previously stated assessment: a media verdict that becomes final and enforceable before it is even pronounced, and which is based on half-truths and unverified allegations by one party to the dispute, represents pressure on courts and other state bodies not to decide according to the Constitution and laws of Montenegro.

The company "Carine" also points out that, unlike part of the domestic public, the international body responsible for the protection of the Kotor area had complete documentation, including a valid building permit and inspection records, and that even after that, it did not recognize the location in Baošići as an issue that should be addressed. This fact speaks for itself.

While the public has been informed for months about UNESCO's alleged request to restore the beach in Baošići to its previous state, the consequences for the Customs company were very real.

The investment in the construction and development of the beach was financed with loans worth several million, was stopped by a temporary construction ban and an order to return the beach to its previous state. The investment is in its final phase, the opening was planned for June, income is not being generated, and interest on the loan obligation is accrued daily. The property damage caused to the company Carine is currently measured in millions of euros. The tourist season has been lost, contracts with tourist operators have remained unfulfilled, and the position of the company Carine on the tourist services market has been significantly damaged, and this damage cannot be compensated.

The CEO of Carine is facing criminal proceedings for constructing a facility without a building permit and documentation, even though Carine has the permit. In the proceedings, he was ordered to be detained for 30 days without any reason, which is an unprecedented precedent in the practice of Montenegrin courts.

"All of this happened based on allegations by the Administration for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Montenegro, which the UNESCO Committee did not even accept as an issue worth mentioning. Therefore, these are allegations with which the Montenegrin public has been deliberately misinformed for months, and an attempt has been made to mislead UNESCO," the statement reads.