After three years of negotiations with Cuban authorities, Spanish real estate Urbas has agreed to create a joint venture with CubaGolf, a company that depends on the Cuban Tourism Ministry, to build a tourism and residential complex in the Pasacaballos, to the south of the city of Cienfuegos, with a total investment of around 3.5 billion euros. The company is a classic among the small caps of the Spanish market. Year 2018 was the worst for Urbas since 2008 financial crisis outbreak.
The project, called Rancho Luna-La Milpa, has a 25 year development plan and will be divided into 5 phases. Urbas is already looking for partners and investment funds to initiate the first stage, for which it anticipates an investment of around 500 million euros. According to its chairman, Juan Antonio Acedo Fernandez, the agreement with Cuba Golf, through the creation of a joint venture which will last 50 years, will allow Urbas to play an important role as a foreign investor in Cuna.
The macro-complex will extend over an area of 1.000 hectares, on which will be constructed six luxury hotels, five golf courses, around 3.400 villas and more than 10,000 apartments. Moreover, the complex will have a port with capacity for 400 mega yachts, commercial and leisure centres and an equestrian centre, among other installations. Urbas and CubaGolf’s joint venture will be constituted before the end of this year, given that it is awaiting the relevant permits from the Cuban authorities.
Urbas has designed a strategic plan for the period 2019-2024 that will focus on placing value on its real estate assets and reducing debt. This will also allow the firm to return to profits and distribute a dividend in 2022.
