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​As the summer season draws closer, a stream of news continues to come our way from the Adriatic coast of our region. Montenegro is the source of updates this time around, as there have been reports about the Stratex Group taking full control over Budvanska Rivijera Hotel Group – a company in which they already hold a 30% ownership stake. The deal would include all of Budvanska Rivijera's assets excluding the St.Stefan island, since the Montenegrin government expressed intentions of retaining it under its ownership.

Stratex Group has been present on the Montenegrin market since 2006, when they have been one of the initial investors in the high-end Dukley Gardens project, and a number of others that have followed. Neil Emilfarb, Stratex Group's CEO, has labelled Montenegro as a potential first-class destination where his company is planning on continuing with a string of new projects, both in the north of the country and throughout the seaside. He outlined the modernisation of the Budva Harbour as one such project whose contruction, in co-operation with the Turkish based Dogus Group, is expected to start in October. Emilfarb estimated the completion of this process to come in 2018, by what time it should be presenting a first class, five star rated complex along the lines of the already established Porto Montenegro in Tivat. The unique aspect of the Budva Harbour in that case being its closeness to Budva's Old Town, one of the most popular tourist spots along the entire Montenegrin coastline.

Speaking in more general terms, Emilfarb offered advice to the Montenegrin government by saying how they should focus on offering investors the kinds of projects that have been rounded up and are only awaiting execution, thus giving them the chance to "simply" bankroll and start work on such projects immediately, without risking the emergence of potential problems in preparatory stages.

 

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