Drydocks boosts Dubai consortium project in Montenegro

Drydocks World will be taking on a major role in Montenegro as it joins a Dubai consortium to create a maritime hub in the Balkan nation.

The DP World-owned company will be joining the group comprised of Adriatic Marinas, fully-owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), and Dutch shipbuilding group Damen.

Damen’s role in the redevelopment of the former Bijela Shipyard in Montenegro’s Boka Bay will now be handled by Drydocks World.

Drydocks World’s involvement in the project brings considerable experience, capabilities and resource to the consortium, and will be key to ensuring that in addition to creating a world-class super yachting hub in Boka Bay, the project will achieve its ambitions of driving major development for Montenegro.

Adriatic Marinas chairman Mohammed I. Al Shaibani said: “This exciting project will not only regenerate the shipyard at Bijela but the whole marine engineering industry, and bring back to life the long and proud maritime history of Montenegro. We are delighted that our colleagues and partners at Drydocks World will bring their substantial resources and expertise to the project. Together we will reposition Bijela to become one of the Mediterranean’s leading superyacht repair and refit facilities.”

Following completion of the government remediation works, the transformation of the yard by the consortium will be completed over a 36-month period and will see it evolve into a superyacht repair and refit facility with plans to start some service work during this redevelopment period.

Bijela in Herceg Novi municipality is the historic homeland of marine engineering in Montenegro and with this yard redevelopment, the region will once again bring the country’s renowned sector skills to the Mediterranean marine market. In addition to the yacht service centre, the consortium plans to establish a skills academy at Bijela to develop future generations of Montenegrin marine engineers.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “Drydocks World has played a key role in Dubai’s growth story, becoming a hub for the maritime industry in the Middle East. By forging a consortium of this nature between Adriatic Marinas and Drydocks World, we are bringing together the considerable combined resources and expertise to develop a world-class facility in Montenegro which will support the economy of the country. This partnership will ensure the Bijela Shipyard can be rapidly regenerated.”

— business@khaleejtimes.com