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Copy linkTop investments and investment ideas in first 9 months of 2011 in opinion of eKapija's readers
This year again, as it is already a tradition, the business web portal eKapija presented at the real estate and investment conference Belgrade Real Expo (BelRe) a retrospective of investments and investment ideas that, in the opinion of eKapija's users, marked the first nine months of 2011.
Although, according to certain statistics, half a million Serbs spent their summer vacation abroad despite the crisis, eKapija's readers were interested in learning where in our country they can (or will soon be able to) enjoy water attractions. Stories about recently opened aqua parks and announcements of new "complexes with water slides" were the most interesting to visitors of our portal. These aqua parks are situated in different parts of Serbia - Backi Petrovac in Vojvodina, Arandjelovac, Silver Lake, Niska Banja, etc.
Hotels also rank high on this list, both those recently opened (Izvor, Danubia Park, Square Nine) and those to be opened soon (a hotel on Stara Planina mountain, Falkensteiner in Belgrade, a hotel within Pasina Cesma complex near Leskovac).
Shopping centers also drew great attention during 2011. They were interesting to contractors and suppliers of equipment, as well as to other users, so that our list includes Retail Park in Pancevo, which hosts some new brands in the market of Serbia.
Although it once seemed to us that shopping centers and markets are only facilities that are being built in Serbia, the truth is that we are still much below the European average in that field. Economists say that the arrival of world-renowned market chains is a simple recipe for lower prices, higher quality of offer and services, and higher standard. Maybe that is one of the reasons why the list also includes the story about potential arrival of Germany's Lidl discount market chain in Serbia.
What is interesting is that readers are now less interested in residential and business complex that they were before, so that the list includes only one investment in the pipeline in that field - Aviv Arlon in Zvezdara borough.
Many users of eKapija were also interested in finding out what would happen with Marakana football stadium. There is still no answer to the question of whether Marakana will be reconstructed by Russians, a Portuguese and British consortium, or some third entity.
Take a look at the rank list for the first 9 months of 2011:
IZVOR HOTEL AND AQUA PARK IN ARANDJELOVAC
A six-hectare aqua park was opened in Arandjelovac in September. Alco Group invested EUR 7 million in the first phase of works on that aqua park. The part of the aqua park that was opened in September is big enough for 5,000 visitors, whereas the entire complex with all accompanying facilities will be completely finished in spring 2012, and it will cost a total of EUR 8.5 million.
This aqua park is an additional
facility within the five-star spa and wellness hotel Izvor, which will
now, with a new and enriched offer, make Bukovicka spa resort a more
desirable tourist destination for both local and foreign guests.
The investor says it was risky to invest about EUR 35 million in the reconstruction of a tourist facility outside Belgrade and renowned tourist centers such as Kopaonik and Zlatibor, but the sales are at a satisfying level.
DANUBIA PARK HOTEL AND AQUA PARK AT SILVER LAKE
At Silver Lake, within the complex Silver Lake Resort, the new four-star hotel Danubia Park, an ideal place for rest and business events, has been opened.
Tucked into a greenery around the lake, only an hour and a quarter of
driving away from Belgrade, Danubia Park Hotel of the company Silver
Lake
Investment offers 130 beds in 53 rooms and 8 suites.
PETROLAND AQUA PARK IN BACKI PETROVAC
In Vojvodina, at the entrance to Backi Petrovac, Petroland was opened in September. Announced as the largest aqua park in the Balkans, this unusual water attraction, worth EUR 21 million, will span 20 hectares once all phases of its construction are completed.
The project investor, Slovakia's Aqua Therm Invest, is also going to have an Olympic swimming pool, an amphitheater, indoor swimming pools and bungalows built within Petroland, as well as two hotels with a total of 400 beds in 2013.
The special value of this center lies in the fact that it is based on thermal waters with the maximum temperature of as high as 46 degrees Centigrade.
RETAIL PARK PANCEVO – AVIV PARK
The second section of Aviv Park, the first real retail park in Serbia, was opened in Pancevo in May, introducing certain new brands in our market. The Israeli investor plans to complete the third phase of this shopping center for the whole family in 2012.
In addition to boutiques, this complex, worth a total of EUR 28 million, will also comprise various entertainment facilities.
JABUCKO RAVNISTE HOTEL COMPLEX ON STARA PLANINA MOUNTAIN
Works on the construction of a hotel complex on Stara Planina mountain go as planned, and if they keep going that way, Jabucko Ravniste will receive its first guests at the New Year.
The first four hotels within a modern ski center on Stara Planina, which will be run by Spanish hotel chains HG Hotels and Sol Melia, should be completed until the end of 2011. The Republic of Serbia and the international investment fund Sigma Capital will set aside between 50 and 60 million euros for investments in the first phase of the tourist complex on Jabucko Ravniste, which will then comprise 500 beds.
According to the plan, this complex on Stara Planina will include 6 hotels with 900 beds. Construction of facilities will run parallel to investments in skiing infrastructure. Until the end of 2011, another two four-seat ski lifts and the first gondola in Serbia will be built in addition to existing two ski lifts.
ARRIVAL OF LIDL IN SERBIA, ANALYSIS OF 20 LOCATIONS
The arrival of Germany's Lidl discount market chain in Serbia has been the subject of speculations over the last few months. The latest information is that Lidl is currently examining about 20 locations, that is, towns in Serbia, where it plans to open its supermarkets.
According to certain announcements, the two cities that will definitely host a Lidl supermarket are Novi Sad and Valjevo. As Stara Pazova Mayor Goran Jovic said in an interview for eKapija, this German company is interested in investing in that municipality as well.
First announced for May, and then for July, construction of an aqua park with all accompanying facilities, spanning 15 hectares in the very attractive location Lozni Kalem, at the entrance to Niska Banja, should kick off until late December 2011 if no new delays are made. The basic reason for the postponement of implementation of this project, in which Serbian and Italian Italinis Group should invest about hundred million euros, lies in the entry in the cadastre and the collecting of building permits.
In the location of Lozni Kalem, which is rich in geothermal waters, the investor plans to build an aqua park with indoor
and outdoor swimming pools, two high-category hotels with a heliport, a
lake, a football field and courts for tennis and mini sports, shopping,
wellness and spa zone, cinema halls, a bawling room, restaurants, bars,
a congress center, exhibition halls...
PASINA CESMA COMPLEX IN LESKOVAC
The citizens of Leskovac are already now unable to recognize their favorite picnic grounds until recently - Pasina Cesma, situated about ten kilometers away from the city. Once the sports center that is being built by the United Arab Emirates, it will be, as they say, one of the most beautiful facilities of the kind, and not only in Serbia.
The plan is that the hotel complex in the location of Pasina Cesma comprises a five-star luxury hotel and a sports hotel, while special attention will be paid to the variety of contents, the quality of services, and animation of guests.
According to the project whose author is Leskovac-based Energosistem Coguric, construction of a sports hall with an indoor swimming pool is also in the pipeline. The complex will include two football pitches - main pitch and an auxiliary pitch with stands.
SHOPPING AND BUSINESS COMPLEX AND FULL RECONSTRUCTION OF MARAKANA FOOTBALL STADIUM
After the visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Serbia in March 2011, stories about reconstruction of Marakana football stadium again came to the focus of public attention. Gazprom then participated in the talks about the construction of a new and contemporary stadium of Crvena Zvezda (Red Star), for which an architectural solution has already been designed, similar to the one for the stadium Dragao in Porto. However, no further plans were presented on that occasion.
The value of Star City is close to EUR 500 million. If implemented, this project will be one of the largest foreign investments in Serbia ever. Before Russians, the Portuguese and British consortium Sonae Sierra also expressed interest in that project, announcing the readiness to invest EUR 250 million in the construction of a new stadium and neighboring business and residential facilities.
FALKENSTEINER HOTEL IN NEW BELGRADE
Construction of a four-star hotel of the famous hotel chain Falkensteiner commenced in New Belgrade's Block 11a in May.
A 12-floor tower with offices and office space, spanning 6,000 square meters, will be built within Maxima Center complex.
Investors Falkensteiner Michaeler (FTMG) and M.O.F. Beta Nekretnine intend to invest EUR 40 million in the city hotel and commercial facilities.
The hotel, designed by the world-famous architect Boris Podrecca, will comprise 171 rooms of contemporary design, suites, a top furnished conference hall with a ballroom, a spa center and "executive lounge" on the ground floor.AVIV ARLON RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IN ZVEZDARA
There is another residential complex in the capital city, and the second investment by Aviv Arlon Group, on our list. This complex is situated in Zvezdara borough, so-called eastern gate of Belgrade.
The company Aviv Arlon from Israel has announced the construction of a 32,000-square-meter residential complex in Zvezdara. A total of 280 apartments, ranging in size from 30 to 100 square meters, will be built in Zivka Davidovica street. This complex will cost EUR 25 million.
The famous US magazine Forbes has included Belgrade-based Square Nine in the list of the world's best new hotels, explaining that it offers top accommodation and accompanying
services. Construction of Square Nine hotel
commenced in 2005, while the first guests spent the night at the hotel
on February 18, 2011. This hotel, symbolically named Square Nine because it's address is 9 Students Square, includes 45 rooms and suites, a wellness and spa center, swimming
pool, conference room, as well as a lobby and a restaurant that can also
be visited by people who are not the guests of the hotel.
This hotel is built according to the
plans drawn by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld who put effort into
making Square Nine look like an international hotel infused with the
spirit of Belgrade.
The company Dash Architects came to an idea to revive this island in the vicinity of the capital city, and it has developed a preliminary design for the complex Danube Grand Hotel & Resort to offer it to global investors.
It is a five-star tourist and recreation and business complex that may be built in a natural oasis and comprise luxury houses floating on water, a hotel, a marina, a beach, and tennis and golf courses on an island in the vicinity of Belgrade.If an investor recognizes the potential of this interesting project, we may soon get a very interesting place for rest.
PRVA NOVA BANJA SPA CENTER IN BANJA VRUJCI
A spa center in Banja Vrujci spa resort was opened in July 2011. The construction of this spa center was started by Milisav Cutovic, professor at the Medical Faculty in Belgrade, few years ago, but its completion was conditioned by the inflow of funds, which were provided without the help of domestic and foreign co-investors.
The investor announced that the construction of a 5.5-hectare complex on both sides of the Toplica river, between Gornja Toplica-Banja
Vrujci road on the right bank and Voda Voda water factory on the left bank of the river, would be finished soon. The author of the project is Aqua Arts-Akvamarin from Belgrade.
