Porto Montenegro to invest €500 million over next ten years

Porto Montenegro, a luxury yacht homeport and marina village, has announced it will invest over €500 million in further development and new projects on site over the next 10 years, during a private event at Monaco Yacht Show 2019.

“We are currently only building on 30 per cent of a vast 24 hectares that once belonged to the Arsenal, a former Yugoslav naval base,” said Danilo Kalezic, Senior PR and Marketing Manager at Porto Montenegro, in his speech. “To date we have invested €500 million and I believe that in the next 10 years, we’ll invest additional €500 million to develop half of the remaining land. This is difficult to predict because the site study is still being adopted but we’re on the right track.”

Speaking exclusively to SuperyachtNews during an interview earlier this year, CEO David Margason said, “Many marina projects aim to market themselves as a homeport, but when you look at the landscape here in Montenegro in terms of tax structure, flexible cruising regulations, cost of living and landscape, it is difficult to identify another place with such natural characteristics of a superyacht hub,” and expressed that Porto Montenegro’s aim is to “fill in all the missing pieces of the puzzle to transform [Montenegro] into that hub.”

The newly announced investment is a testament to the goal set out by Margason, and is supported by this year’s summer season which has reportedly been one of the most successful seasons ever for Porto Montenegro. The village hosted many top-level events, from the very first RC44 regatta, the Gigayacht Captains Forum, and the Sunreef Yachts rendezvous, as well as Montenegro’s inaugural polo tournament.

“All berths for yachts under 30 metres were fully occupied this summer and overall occupancy was 11.5 per cent higher compared to 2018,” continued Kalezic. “In the winter season, we recorded a 10.5 per cent increase compared to last year. Over 30 metre berthing is expected to exceed 2018 by the end of the winter as the Bijela shipyard and new pre-Bijela offers draw positive attention from the market.”

Additionally, in 2019 the Regent Pool Club Residences, a duo of two wings – AQUA and BAIA – consisting of apartments and penthouse suites, positioned adjacent to the five-star Regent Porto Montenegro hotel, has reached completion. London’s WATG Architects and MHZ Paris created the contemporary design which combines elements of Venetian and Italian aesthetics.

Porto Montenegro continues to develop in all directions. “The village has transformed from a summer destination to a year-round destination village and regional lifestyle-centric, multi-faceted business hub,” summarised Kalezic.

Alongside continued upgrades to Porto Montenegro Yacht Club, the village also takes on a new business dimension, offering co-working spaces and new office hubs. Among the additions will be the Ambulanta Club which will add a collection of new office facilities nearby the Arena and BlueRoom venues, bringing a new dimension to competitive office rentals with laser clay shooting, archery and other gaming facilities in the vicinity. In 2019, Porto Montenegro welcomed its first family office for new business residents, with Monte Carlo Yachts, Beneteau, and Sunreef Yachts among them.

Further news from Monaco Yacht Show can be found here.

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