Post by Bozur on Jul 30, 2009 10:19:23 GMT -5
Greece's Restis to invest in Montenegrin resort
Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:50am EDT
* Restis the main investor in Sveti Stefan resort
* To invest 30 mln euros in resort reconstruction
By Petar Komnenic
PODGORICA, July 28 (Reuters) - Greece-based shipping company Restis Group has become the main investor in Montenegro's most prominent tourist project, Sveti Stefan island, where Hollywood celebrities once frolicked, officials said on Tuesday.
After running far behind schedule in reopening the island, made up of traditional stone houses, the elite boutique hotel chain Amanresorts has turned to Victor Restis of the Restis Group to help fund a 30-million-euro reconstruction investment, said Livio Ranza, general manager of Aman Sveti Stefan.
"With our Greek partner now we have all the papers to start and we have to resolve a few things with the Montenegrin government," Ranza said in an interview.
The involvement of Restis Group, Greece's fifth-largest shipper, in the resort project comes as it competes for a 127-million-euro stake in Montenegro's power monopoly, EPCG. [ID:nLS387242]
Restis has, to date, invested 90 million euros in Montenegro, said Goran Velimirovic, the Greek shipping tycoon's business advisor and lawyer in Montenegro, a former Yugoslav republic, on the Adriatic.
"He is really enchanted with Montenegro and thinks it has a great future for investment and can be a future Monaco," he said.
Amanresorts closed Sveti Stefan in 2007 for renovations after winning a 30-year lease. The lease on Sveti Stefan and the adjacent Villa Milocer costs 2.1 million euros a year.
"Mr. Restis has taken over the lease for the property," Velimirovic said by telephone. "Amanresorts will continue as the resort management."
"He intends to have it opened next year, if not the whole thing, at least part of it."
Past deadlines to reopen a 47-suite island resort have passed, and plans to launch in late 2009 have been scrapped, Ranza said, adding the target date is now June or July 2010.
The total investment for Sveti Stefan and adjacent properties is seen at more than 80 million euros, officials say, of which 30 million is needed for the island resort itself.
Montenegro is hoping to recast its coast from a largely budget destination during Yugoslav times to a region of upscale resorts and yacht ports luring rich tourists and investors.
A drop in overnight visits of ten percent in the first six months of 2009 amid the world financial crisis has however slowed investment interest of recent. (Writing by Adam Tanner; Editing by Mariam Karouny)
www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSB65744020090728