How Monaco resident Robert Thielen wants to improve Liguria
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Businessman Robert Thielen has decided to invest in the region of Ventimiglia and Liguria, to turn it into an area with “high potential for tourism”.
240 million: this is the cost of the development project for the region around Ventimiglia that Robert Thielen has launched. The benefactor is a Dutch businessman and resident of Monaco, who fell in love with Liguria.
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Robert Thielen, owner of a boat in Monaco, discovered the new port built by the Principality at Ventimiglia in 2018. Won over by the town’s natural setting and heritage, he made plans to invest a large sum of money so that it could become a luxury tourist destination.
Marina Development Corporation and the BDF investment fund will be responsible for this large-scale project, estimated at 240 million euros. It was presented to the owners of the land involved and to the Italian elected representatives and was approved by a majority vote. Ventimiglia’s image is therefore set to change in the months and years to come.
Robert Thielen is also interested in another area in Italy: the mouth of the River Arno, in Tuscany. His aim is to modernise the entire Marina di Pisa to make it a decidedly upmarket location.
SEE ALSO: Monaco-Ventimiglia in ten minutes with this 1.2 million euro catamaran
A children’s play area
One of Robert Thielen’s first actions was to create a children’s play area in La Colla (Ventimiglia Alta). A long-standing request by the neighbourhood’s residents, it will provide a play area for all young Italians. The playground was designed by Marina Development Corporation, with a medieval era theme.
Gaetano Scullino, the mayor of Ventimiglia, expressed his delight, and gratitude to Robert Thielen. “Today he has given us a small but important playground for the children in the historic town centre,” he told Sanremo News. “Our thanks go out to him for his interest in Ventimiglia.”
300 jobs and a sports education centre
Giuseppe Noto, CEO of Marina Development Corporation, confirmed to Sanremo News that nearly 300 jobs will be created in the region over the next few years. These new positions form part of the investments planned by Robert Thielen.
The investor from Monaco has another project planned: founding a centre for sports and education in Liguria. The international school should attract nearly 500 pupils who wish to pursue sports-related studies.