Lustica Bay - The story so far

BACK IN 2008, LUŠTICA BAY was a lovely but empty stretch of Montenegrin coastline. In the 11 years since Samih Sawiris, the far-sighted chairman of Orascom Development, spotted its potential, this former military training ground of nearly seven million square metres has been transformed. It is already well on the way to becoming the diverse, vibrant Montenegrin town that Samih Sawiris envisaged.

Much has changed in those 11 years, but the key principles behind Luštica Bay have not. ‘We build towns, communities, experiences, not just buildings,’ says Khaled Bichara, the CEO of Orascom Development, the company behind nine uniquely evolved destinations across three continents, including Luštica Bay.

The company’s philosophy is ‘Life as it should be’ and this is woven through each and every one of those destinations, from El Gouna in Egypt to Andermatt in the Swiss Alps to Luštica Bay itself. Orascom does not simply construct houses – though its residences, from studio apartments to graceful villas, are highly desirable. It does not simply develop resorts – though its eye for stunning locations is keen. The company’s ethos is focused on the long term; on sustainable, well-managed, integrated towns that work to the benefit of residents, the local community and investors alike.

‘Last summer was very exciting for Luštica Bay – not just in terms of gorgeous houses but also the opening of the marina and The Chedi Luštica Bay hotel,’ says Khaled Bichara. ‘The excitement of seeing a community come to life is the same in all the different

countries in which we work. The beauty of what we are doing is building different towns, with different characters, based on individual locations – and based on the needs of our customers.’

The prime minister of Montenegro gave his personal congratulations at the opening of The Chedi Luštica Bay; a measure of the standing and prestige of the Luštica Bay development in the country. ‘It has been tough working to deliver the promises we made,’ says Khaled Bichara. ‘Being the largest investor in a sector in a country is a blessing – but also a big responsibility. We can deliver because of our credibility. When we promise something to our client, we can look them in the eye years later and be glad we have delivered something they are happy with – not a product, but a town. You have to be patient, to invest, not make knee-jerk reactions, never take short cuts.’

This prescient, long-term vision has stood Orascom – and Luštica Bay – in good stead. Environmentally friendly principles have been a cornerstone for Orascom for three decades, ever since the company was founded. While such concerns are now widely recognised as crucial, a decade ago few developers would have considered them key.

‘This is something we’ve stuck with since the very beginning,’ affirms Khaled Bichara. ‘Being a very large landowner, we understand that, to create value in the long term, we have to be good to the environment so the environment is good to us.

The Orascom insistence on integration, another company cornerstone, is similarly visionary. ‘In all our projects, we focus on being integrated into not only the environment and the topography, but also into local communities,’ says Khaled Bichara. ‘We thrive when they thrive around us. When they grow, we grow – it’s very symbiotic. In Montenegro we work with local investors: shops, businesses, contractors. We now have hundreds of entrepreneurs running services in El Gouna – and bringing us more customers. In the short term it may be best to keep all the money to yourself, but by sharing and looking beyond, to the medium and long terms, you can grow.’

This desire to merge with the locale extends to architecture. ‘You won’t see us copying and pasting our designs. Every building is designed individually – we have many different architects.’

Orascom’s commitment to its developments also extends way beyond the construction phases; the company retains a management role once the infrastructure is completed, continuing to operate and manage its towns’ services, to guarantee its high standards are maintained. ‘For our developments to be sustainable, they have to stand the test of time,’ explains Khaled Bichara. ‘El Gouna is 30 years old and its marina still looks brand new. We want to run the services to ensure the level of service we have promised our customers. We can leverage our extensive global experience in all our developments, making sure life really is as it should be for our customers. That is why governments across the world are trusting us with so much land – 100 million square metres in total. It also makes financial sense – it is a win-win situation for our customers and our investors.’

Khaled Bichara’s commitment to Orascom is personal as well as professional. He had already bought his own house in El Gouna when he moved on from his original Orascom role in telecoms and IT to take up the position of CEO in 2016. ‘I already loved El Gouna and understood why it was doing so well – I knew what the group stands for, how great the product is, how deeply customers were attached to it. It was a great challenge for me, moving on from IT and telecoms in the back room; now I work on beaches and in the mountains. The mandate was to make the finances as beautiful as the properties, while keeping the spirit and the promise of Orascom. Achieving financial and corporate success is good for our customers and for the future of their investment.’

In 2015, Khaled Bichara delivered a TED Talk, Illusion of Stability, that explained how companies must embrace change and accept that, in a fast-moving world, stability is an impossible goal. Since then, the world has speeded up even more. ‘In our towns, the way we do business, the technology we use, we continuously evolve,’ he now says. ‘You either go forwards or you go backwards. Our view is always to look at how we scale our business to allow us to continue to please our customers, automating more without losing the personal touch – how we can manage towns better, more efficiently, maybe sometimes more cheaply. We look at how we can construct more quickly and more safely.’

Orascom’s global presence and experience are invaluable assets, he explains. ‘Being in so many different countries and cultures allows us to cross-fertilise, to leverage our knowledge with ideas and contributions from everywhere. We are very diversified – not just European, not just Middle Eastern. So, for example, European processes are more structured, while in Egypt we have to be more imaginative around how we use resources. We have vision, passion and resources. Before we touched this seven million virgin square metres in Montenegro, no one could have imagined how it would look today.’

Today, immense progress has already been made – how will tomorrow look? ‘There is an interesting phenomenon in all our developments – critical mass,’ says Khaled Bichara. ‘Once a town reaches critical mass, the speed of acceleration becomes much faster. Last season was that critical point in Luštica Bay’s history. With the opening of the hotel, the marina, the retail space, it’s now not just beautiful apartments, it’s a town. The future will see the development of more hotels and the building of Centrale [see our feature on Centrale, the heart of Luštica Bay, on page 34], to attract different customers to create the right community. After 11 years in Montenegro, we are very proud and happy – but we believe the next 11 will be even more exciting and rewarding. We are even more optimistic for the future.’