November the 21st, 2021 - There is still a resounding no as an answer the the question of the Sucuraj marina as the Croatian Government turns down a would-have-been Slovakian concessionaire.

As Morski writes, there's still nothing much to say about the construction of the Sucuraj marina which would boast 250 berths on the Central Dalmatian island of Hvar. At a session held several days ago, the Croatian Government entirely rejected the only bid that arrived in the tender because it was deemed to be incomplete and thus rendered invalid.

The concession was to cover an area of ​​slightly more than 100,000 square metres of maritime domain on which the waterfront, breakwaters, moorings, road accesses, buildings and all other associated infrastructure for the potential Sucuraj marina were to be built, which would add a lot to Hvar as a whole with its aforementioned additional 250 berths. The concession was otherwise to be granted for a period of thirty years.

The estimated value of the investment was slightly higher than 390 million kuna  and the tender had already been annulled once back in 2018 because "the concession holder did not provide a mandatory guarantee of a commercial bank in the amount of 1 percent of the total value of the project", which was one of the vital conditions which needed to be met in order to get a thumbs up from the government.

Only one company, Marina Scuraj d.o.o., which was founded in September last year by the Slovak company Sitno Holding Real Estate, which is owned by a Slovakian businessman and former politician, Ľudovít Cernak, applied for the repeated tender.

However, just a few days ago, the Croatian Government rejected the offer of this particular Slovak investor, because the conceptual design submitted in the offer is not in accordance with the spatial planning documents, ie the Urban Development Plan for the Nautical Tourism Port of Sucuraj - UPU 5.

It's worth mentioning that the aforementioned Slovakian holding previously won the tender of the Municipality of Preko for the development of the tourist zone Macjak - Sumljak.

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August the 12th, 2021 - These eighteen Croatian beaches are under concession, which means that entrance fees can be charged and limits on who can enter them can be put into place. The costs for concessionaires in such cases are astronomical, and that is why so few Croatian beaches are under these sort of rules.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, due to the continuing great interest of the public, the Morski.hr portal published a list of Croatian beaches that are allowed to be fenced off and which have entrance fees in the Republic of Croatia. There are only 18 such beaches in all of Croatia.

This is an issue that many often don't really fully understand, and this is an attempt to break down the difference between a concession and a restriction on the general use of what's known as maritime domain. It is important to note that the level of general use restrictions depends on what type of concession is at play.

At the moment, more than 1000 concession agreements are active on maritime domain, but in Croatia, there are only 18 beaches where fencing and entrance fees are allowed. Here is a list of those Croatian beaches:

Koversada - A beach and naturist camp, the concession holder is Maistra d.d. and the concession lasts until April the 18th, 2033.

Valalta - A beach and naturist camp, the concessionaire is Valalta d.o.o. and the concession lasts until April the 18th, 2033.

Ulika - A beach and naturist camp, the concessionaire in Plava Laguna d.d. and the concession lasts until the 31st of December, 2033.

The Novi Vinodolski beach in front of Hotel Lisanj in the part of zone A where there is a swimming pool to control the number of users and security reasons for payment, which also includes the right to use deck chairs, the concession holder is Hotel Lisanj d.d. and the concession lasts until March the 17th, 2040.

Kandalora Beach, Rab - A nudist beach with the right to charge entrance fees, the concession holder is Boja d.o.o. and the concession lasts until the 31st of July, 2025.

Baska A/C Skrila - A nudist camp which is allowed to put up fencing and charge an entrance fee. In cooperation with JLS, a beach which can also have an entrance fee has been built around the camp (Njivice A/C) but this isn't applied in agreement with the concessionaire. The concession holder is Valamar Riviera d.d. The concession lasts until July the 1st, 2024.

The Cikat bay beach below the five-star Bellevue hotel, an entrance fee is allowed to be charged in one part, the concession holder is Jadranka turizam d.o.o. The concession on the maritime domain for the economic use of the beach with the possibility of fencing and charging an entrance fee to access the beach in front of the Lovisca campsite. The concession holder is Skoljic d.o.o. and it will last until the 9th of June, 2026.

The concession on the maritime domain for economic use of Gracina beach with the possibility of putting up fencing and charging an entrance fee to access the beach. The concession holder holder is Hostin d.o.o. and the concession will last until the 15th of March, 2025.

Kostabela (Costabella) beach, Rijeka - there is the possibility of putting up fencing but no possibility of charging an entrance fee. The concession holder is JTH Costabella d.o.o. and the concession will last until the 5th of November, 2045.

TN Crvena luka, Biograd Na Moru - The concession holder is Crvena Luka d.d. and the concession will last until the 10th of August, 2027.

Simuni, Pag - The concession holder is Camp Simuni d.o.o. and the concession will last until April the 15th, 2028.

TN Zaton beach, Nin - The concession holder is Turisthotel d.d. and the concession will last until February the 14th, 2026.

Borik beach, Zadar.

Beach TN Punta Skala, Petrcane - The concession holder is Punta Skala d.o.o. and the concession will last until the 2nd of June, 2028.

TN Pine Beach, Pakostane -The concession holder is Proficio d.d. and the concession will last until the 17th of September, 2027.

Starigrad beach in front of hotel ALAN  - The concessionaire is Sunce hoteli d.d. and the concession will last until the 12th of December, 2029.

Strasko Beach, Pag - The concession holder is Hadria d.o.o. and the concession will last until the 12th of April, 2037.

For more on Croatian beaches, check our our dedicated section and find the right one for you.