Residents of Cavtat and landowners have requested the administrative court to annul the location permit for a project to build a marina and tourist resort in Prahivac Bay. The project, which the Government declared a strategic interest in 2022, envisages the construction of a marina and tourist resort with a hotel, as well as numerous villas and apartments, for a private investor.
Some residents and landowners recently informed the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions about the alleged harmfulness and illegality of the project. Residents gathered in the Čista luka civic initiative presented their views on the project to the committee last week, which has left the matter open.
Dijana Lasić of the Čista luka civic initiative stated that they are located on the largest natural beach in the area, where generations of residents have learned to swim, including her daughter. “According to some Maltese investor, there are reefs here, but we see that it is actually a natural beach and they intend to concrete over the whole thing,” Lasić said.
Luka Vidak, a member of the civic initiative, stated that they are in the wine cellar of Villa A2, that they have passed through the living room and jacuzzi of Villa A1, and that this should not be the case. He also highlighted that the coastal promenade, which is located right by the sea, has always been in general public use.
Marina Resort Cavtat d.o.o. stated in a statement that the referral of the petition to the European Parliament and its potential inclusion in further procedure are part of the regular institutional process and do not in themselves mean that irregularities have been established or that the investor is liable.
The marina in Cavtat has been discussed for around twenty years. Residents consider the potential expropriation of land for construction and the sale of expensive properties to be unacceptable. Of the 750 metres of coastline covered by the project, the maritime property is not registered on 250 metres, and the scope of the permit has approached the sea by just over a metre in some places.
Mayor of Konavle Municipality Božo Lasić believes that essentially every major project, including this one, carries its own disputes, and that there are arguments for and against, while the responsibility is actually to find the right measure between development and the preservation of space. Social benefit, strategic interest and the profitability of the investment are not the same, and the institutions will decide what will prevail in the end.
