Adriatic Properties will resume construction of the Janu-Kraljičina plaža hotel complex in Miločer on Oct. 1, the company said, restarting a major coastal tourism project after a five-year suspension.
The company said work would continue under the existing building permit following its settlement with the Montenegrin government. The project had been halted amid a wider dispute over the Sveti Stefan resort, including issues related to access to beaches and the contractual relationship between the investor and the state.
The approved development comprises 126 accommodation units, including 63 hotel rooms and 63 apartments, with a total capacity of 262 beds. Plans also include 137 underground parking spaces.
Adriatic Properties said the apartments would remain within the hotel operating model rather than being developed as separate residential units outside the approved project.
The complex is expected to operate under Janu, a hospitality brand affiliated with Aman.
According to Adriatic Properties, completing the project would increase the wider Sveti Stefan resort’s accommodation capacity from 58 to 184 rooms and units. The company said the additional capacity would expand the resort beyond the historic Sveti Stefan island and Villa Miločer.
The resort reopened this year following the settlement, after having been closed during much of the dispute. The company’s planned construction restart marks the next stage of the investment programme, although Adriatic Properties has not announced a revised total investment value or completion date.
The project is located in the Sveti Stefan, Miločer and Kraljičina plaža area, a coastal zone of high environmental and cultural sensitivity. Construction is therefore likely to remain subject to scrutiny over density, public access, landscape protection and the relationship between hotel development and public space.
Adriatic Properties has said the project will remain within the existing permit and approved footprint. The company’s statement that the apartments will remain within the hotel operating structure is also relevant to how the development is classified and operated. Whether those units remain in active hotel inventory will become clearer as the project progresses.
The five-year suspension may have affected construction costs, procurement arrangements, financing assumptions and the project schedule, although the company has not provided details on those effects. Montenegro’s construction sector is also facing demand from tourism, residential and public infrastructure projects, which could influence costs and the availability of labour and materials.
The restart could have implications for investor perceptions of Montenegro, but the extent of any effect cannot yet be established. A completed project and the durable implementation of the government-investor settlement would provide stronger evidence than the restart announcement alone.
Similarly, the settlement may be viewed as part of Montenegro’s effort to resolve long-running tourism disputes, but there is no basis in the information available to conclude that it will directly affect the country’s EU accession process or determine future foreign investment flows.
The project could add luxury accommodation capacity to the Budva-Sveti Stefan area and may support demand for related services such as restaurants, transport, wellness and retail. The scale of any economic impact will depend on completion, operating performance, occupancy, the proportion of units kept in hotel inventory and the extent to which the resort operates beyond the peak summer season.
Luxury hotels can attract higher-spending visitors and may be less dependent on July-August demand than some other forms of accommodation. However, whether the Janu complex extends the tourism season or increases total visitor spending in Montenegro remains uncertain until the hotel is completed and operating data become available.
The first scheduled milestone is Oct. 1, when construction is due to restart. The more significant test will be whether the project is completed under the existing approval and integrated into the wider Sveti Stefan resort as described by Adriatic Properties.
