Investors from the Gulf have poured billions into the Balkans in recent years, especially into Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania. The United Arab Emirates leads the charge, backing flashy real estate and tourism projects that promise economic revival.
They bring billions in promised capital, modernise neglected cityscapes, and signal international interest in a region long overlooked. Yet, as these projects rise, so do concerns about transparency, fairness, and public oversight.
Belgrade Waterfront: Ambition, Investment, and the Cost of Transparency
Belgrade Waterfront, rising along the Sava River in central Belgrade, is one of the Balkans’ biggest Gulf-financed urban projects.
Launched in 2014, this 3.5 billion euro development is a joint venture between the Serbian government and Eagle Hills, a private developer from Abu Dhabi.
The plan: transform 100 hectares of former rail-yard land into a gleaming district of skyscrapers, luxury apartments, hotels, and malls.
Eagle Hills’ chairman Mohamed Alabbar (better known for developing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa) envisioned creating a Balkan Dubai by the Sava.
The initial phase is now largely complete, featuring the region’s tallest tower and thousands of new apartments sold, indicating significant market demand.
Based on its sheer size and sales success, the project has undeniably injected new life and capital into a long-neglected part of the city.
Serbian Controversy, from the ‘Get Go’
Yet Belgrade Waterfront has been mired in controversy from the start.
The government fast-tracked a special law to enable the development, bypassing usual urban planning and procurement procedures.
Many details of the contract remain undisclosed. And when masked men illegally demolished buildings at the site in 2016 under the cover of night to clear the way for development, suspicion hardened into distrust.
The economic benefits are real, but so are the governance flaws.
Eagle Hills didn’t pay upfront for the land, while the company financed construction largely through pre-sales, using local capital.
Meanwhile, the city funded the supporting infrastructure such as roads and utilities without clear cost-benefit guarantees.
Belgraders gained a shiny new skyline but evidence of wide-scale corruption has emerged.
Gulf Ambitions Meet Local Opposition on Montenegro’s Coastline
In Montenegro, the UAE is the third-largest source of foreign capital outflow.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai-based companies have acquired flagship assets like the Porto Montenegro marina and launched mega-developments across the region.
In early 2025, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic signed a cooperation agreement with the UAE, touting a jaw-dropping 30–35 billion euro in potential investments.
The crown jewel is a mega-resort on a 12-kilometre stretch of untouched Adriatic beach near Ulcinj. Again, Eagle Hills featured prominently. The government promoted it as a tourism revolution.
However, learning from the Belgrade example, the pushback came early and loud.
Citizens and environmental groups protested, fearing the destruction of one of Europe’s last wild beaches. Civil society warned of a deal struck without public input or environmental safeguards.
Hesitancy from the Top
Even Montenegro’s president, Jakov Milatovic, refused to ratify the agreement.
He raised concerns about transparency, legal procedures, and alignment with EU principles.
The project now hangs in limbo, ratified by parliament but blocked at the presidential level. Montenegro learned quickly what Serbia had discovered slowly: development without accountability triggers resistance.
Albania’s Gulf Deal Raises Eyebrows
Albania, too, finds itself in the midst of a Gulf-backed transformation.
In 2022, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced plans to redevelop the Port of Durres, the country’s largest harbour, into a luxury marina complex in partnership with Eagle Hills.
The Durres Yachts and Marina project aims to build thousands of upscale residences, hotels, and a superyacht port.
The government sold it as a game-changer that would turn Albania into the “Monaco of the Adriatic.”
Rama’s administration passed a special law to fast-track the deal.
Opposition parties challenged it in court, arguing that the government awarded the contract without a public tender.
The Constitutional Court eventually dismissed the case, saying the project qualified as a bilateral agreement. Legally, the project moves forward. Politically, doubts linger.
Growth Demands Transparency
Across these three countries, the pattern repeats: enormous Gulf investment, fast-tracked agreements, minimal public consultation, and fierce local debate.
What emerges isn’t a blanket condemnation of foreign capital.
People in the Balkans don’t reject investment, they reject opacity. Citizens want to know how deals are made, who profits, and whether their towns and coastlines will still belong to them when the cranes leave.
Governments must recognise this tension.
Economic development and democratic governance cannot be mutually exclusive. Gulf investors like Eagle Hills should expect and embrace greater scrutiny.
Governments Need to be Accountable
Public consultations don’t just satisfy EU norms; they make projects stronger and more resilient.
If governments continue to cut corners in pursuit of glamour and growth, they risk alienating the very public they aim to serve.
Instead, if they commit to transparency, fair bidding, and civic engagement, then Gulf investment can become a true engine for shared prosperity.
The cranes, the towers, and the marina docks may rise either way but only one path ensures that the people who live beneath them feel they truly belong.
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