At its session on Friday, the Croatian government gave its approval for the selection of a consultant for investments in the hotels and accompanying services on the northern Adriatic island of Veliki Brijun.
An association of bidders, consisting of Horwath and Horwath Consulting from Zagreb and Raiffeisen Centrobank from Vienna, was chosen for that purpose and its services will cost 6.52 million kuna exclusive of VAT.
After the consultants do their part of the job, the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection would suggest to the government a concession model for hotel and accompanying services on the island. The project is estimated at between 1.5 and 2 billion kuna.
The future concessionaire will manage the facilities on the island, which is a part of the Brijuni National Park, while environmental protection will remain the responsibility of the Environment and Nature Protection Ministry.
Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said that a concession would be granted for the hotel and restaurant industry on the island and not for the national park.
Speaking to the press after the Cabinet session, Tourism Minister Darko Lorencin said that the government's aim was to bring to Veliki Brijun an investor that would provide top-notch service and create "a tourism product that has not been seen, a product of the future."
When asked if any investors had already shown an interest, Lorencin said that an interest had been shown both in this project and in the Brijuni Riviera project. He said that it was most important to ensure that Brijuni offered a completely new concept of tourist services, citing the existing golf courses and the beauties of the environment, the sea and historical heritage.
"Anyway, we want an operator at the same level as companies such as One & Only, Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons," the minister said, noting that he mentioned these companies as a standard.
(Hina)
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