Porto Montenegro provides further details about its extensive ongoing expansion and development, outlining its vision to become the Mediterranean’s premium full service marina and residential destination. Located on the UNESCO-protected Bay of Kotor, the site has undergone significant growth since I first visited the region in 2014.
Porto Montenegro is building on its established 460 berth superyacht marina, Regent Porto Montenegro Hotel and 300 residential apartments as well as adding Adriatic 42 superyacht repair facility. Acquired by Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) in 2016, it seems hard to believe that Porto Montenegro’s entire destination offering is still only 40% complete, with plans to expand into five neighbourhoods.
David Margason, Managing Director at Porto Montenegro, adds: “Our vision is to complete Porto Montenegro as the premier boating and superyacht hub in the Mediterranean and to reinvent waterfront living with a diverse collection of eclectic but integrated neighbourhoods, which will be introduced over the lifetime of the masterplan according to the prevailing markets, and which harmoniously fuse together to create a place of discovery, and creative and adventurous fulfilment. Porto Montenegro is a year-round destination designed for modern lifestyles supporting a balance of live work and play. With more than 40 nationalities, Porto Montenegro is a global community, where people are united in their curiosity for the unexpected and their insatiable desire for the extraordinary.”
As well as the residential and hotel developments, the current marina capacity of 460, with a max LOA of 250m, will see the next stage of expansion in phases, eventually reaching 850 berths. This will be in conjunction with the development of the full-service Adriatic 42 superyacht repair facility, with the intention of becoming the largest full-service marina in the Mediterranean.
Porto Montenegro, in a joint venture with Drydocks World Dubai, was able to successfully tender for the facility itself. The resultant joint venture is a 50:50 partnership that leans on Porto Montenegro’s local expertise and relationships with the Montenegrin government and Drydocks World Dubai’s capabilities when it comes to shipyard activity. According to Porto Montenegro, the aim is quite simply to turn Adriatic 42 into a world leader for superyacht refit and maintenance activities.
“I have been here almost 15 years to the day and one of the first things I did when I arrived was to look at the old arsenal shipyard base that Porto Montenegro now occupies and then look at Adriatic Shipyards in Bijela,” says Tony Browne, marina director of Porto Montenegro, when asked about the project in February 2022. “The original vision for Porto Montenegro was to have shipyard facilities, but not on site. Bijela Shipyard was a facility that hadn’t recovered from the economic sanctions imposed during the Balkan conflict in the 90s and it had sufficient shipyard capabilities for a mixed-use site with both a marina and a shipyard, but we decided it was important to create a superyacht luxury destination first (Porto Montenegro), with a complimentary shipyard facility off-site (Adriatic 42).”
With a large number of yachts already based there year-round, and more expected for the event, Porto Montenegro will also be hosting the next iteration of The Crew Awards, on the 14-16th October 2022. In partnership with ACREW, the 20 award categories include ‘Best Charter Yacht Crew’, ‘Best Chef’, and ‘Best Deck Team’. The finalists will be announced on the 10th of June. The judging panel is comprised of former current senior superyacht captains and crew. This year’s event will be the 5th edition, with superyacht captains, crew, award nominees, and finalists invited to attend a weekend full of activities in the marina village.
