Stories have been circulating in the media on the planned development of a 320 ha construction project in the Russian part of the Curonian Spit. Lithuania’s Respublika daily reports that Russia has set its sights on building over 70 hotels, motels and guesthouses, an international conference centre, wellness camps for kids and a huge sports and tourism complex along with new water supplies, gas pipelines and other infrastructure. The project is valued at around RUB 7.6 billion (EUR 0.2 billion). However, Lithuanian and Russian institutions that the media have spoken to claim to have no official information on any major construction projects on the Curonian Spit. The scenic spit of land is UNESCO-protected on the Lithuanian side.