Parliament of Montenegro (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)
In the night of April 22, representatives of the Parliament of Montenegro adopted two agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which pave the way for the development of Ulcinj’s Long Beach, a controversial, large-scale project that has already roused significant public outrage.
The Economic Cooperation Agreement and the Agreement on Cooperation in Tourism and Real Estate Development were adopted following a full day of deliberation which began before the Easter holidays. All this occurred only 40 days after the Montenegrin public first heard of the project and the potential investor, Eagle Hills Properties.
Eagle Hills is owned by Mohamed Alabbar, whose net worth is estimated to EUR2.3 billion. According to the media, Alabbar is also the main developer of Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Mall, the Belgrade Waterfront and an exclusive complex in Durres, Albania.
Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milojko Spajic has presented Alabbar as a credible investor who will pour EUR35 billion into Ulcinj, a sum which the investor himself has said in numerous recent media appearances “reflects the project’s wider economic impact.”
Ulcinj’s local government, however, is strongly against the development and locals have staged several protest rallies insisting their Long Beach (Velika plaza) is not for sale and that the town is not a desert where one can construct a second Dubai.
Some NGOs believe the two agreements override Montenegrin law and that the deal with Alabbar has already been struck, “opening the door wide to money laundering.”
President of Montenegro Jakov Milatovic, too, has warned that the Ulcinj project is unconstitutional and illegal, and has called on the relevant authorities to launch an investigation into the matter.
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