18 August 2018 - A large, multimedia music-scenic spectacle in front of about 1,600 guests marked the opening of a new city on the Adriatic – Luštica Bay, as a fully operational and functional destination.
The symbolic merging of the last three stones of the construction, the ultra-luxury hotel Čedi, was opened by the President of the Board of Directors and the owner of Orascom Development Holding, Samih Saviris, Prime Minister Duško Marković and President of the Board of Directors of the Belgian Besix Group Johan Berlandt.
Kalid Bišara, CEO of Orascom Development Holding, Milutin Simović, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy and Financial System and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Siniša Kusovac, President of the Municipality of Tivat, opened the new nautical port of Marina Luštica Bay.
Prime Minister Marković congratulated the companies Orascom Development Holding and Luštica Development at the completion of works on the construction of the first of the seven planned hotels on the Luštica Bay project. The opening of the hotel opened 171 new jobs, of which over 77% of them are for Montenegrin citizens, which is of special importance to the local community and the state of Montenegro.
"This is an opportunity to remind everyone how much was high resistance when the Government and the Prime Minister Đukanović initiated this investment with this credible partner Luštica at the end of 2013. They were strong and on all sides. So tonight, we witness and win the vision of the obstruction and ignorance but also, we witness the courage of the investor and his faith and love towards Montenegro. In this part of the peninsula there was no utility, transport or other infrastructure, which makes this project the only greenfield investment in Montenegro," Prime Minister Duško Marković stressed, addressing the guests at the opening ceremony of the Hotel Čedi - the second hotel of that brand in Europe and the first in the Balkans.
There was no municipal, transport or other infrastructure in the part of the Luštica peninsula that was included in the project, which makes Luštica Bay the only greenfield investment in Montenegro. Marković reiterated that the government does not have a major job from rapidly building up the overall infrastructure in order to improve Montenegro's tourism offer and the entire economy, and that the airport's valorization is the main priority.
The value of the project, estimated at 1.1 billion EUR, makes Luštica Bay the largest tourist project in Montenegro, one of the largest and most important in the country in general, and one of the largest in the Mediterranean.
The executive director of Luštica Development, a national project company responsible for the development of Luštica Bay, Daren Gibson, said that the company is already ready for new challenges and achievements.
The Luštica Bay project involves the construction of seven hotels, two marinas, golf courses, about 2,000 apartments, villas and family houses, and all the necessary facilities for the city life.
Until 2 am, about 1,600 guests enjoyed an unusual musical and spectacular event, with fireworks, a light show, performances with fire, dancers, mountain and sea villas, and the participation of numerous performers from the country and the world. The concert of one of the world's most important musicians, Nile Rogers and the Chic group, was held. The audience enjoyed the performance of DJ Nick Bridges and in the electro opera within the Operosa festival, a combination of electro music with some of the most famous opera classics.
