Hollywood actor Brad Pitt is planning to build a new resort with a luxury hotel, villas, a golf course, shops and restaurants in the small resort town of Zablace, just outside Sibenik of the central Dalmatian region, local media report.

The actor visited Croatia on Thursday for a brief tour of the site of the proposed luxury development, estimated to cost more than $1.5 billion, that would transform Zablace into “a modern ecologically-responsible planned community”, People reports.

Pitt, who has previously visited the country with his actress wife Angelina Jolie and their children on holiday, was said to have described Croatia as “the most beautiful country he has ever visited" during this trip, fascinated by the clean sea and intensity of colours, according to Nikola Bašić, the architect behind the proposed development in Zablace who joined the actor on the tour of the site.

The plans, which would incorporate a community of 2,500 residents, are reported to also include the building schools and a clinic.
It is unclear whether the development will come to fruition and no expected completion date has been announced. However, Swiss-based fund TFI Holding is reported to have already invested $70 million in the construction of the site.

The latest project is not the first time the actor has shown investment interest in Croatia. In 2012, he was reported to have been looking to build a waterfront resort along Danko Končar, featuring hotels, villas, a golf course and a marina.

In the US, Mr Pitt has helped to redevelop the city of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina through his Make it Right foundation, which built more than 100 new houses designed by world-famous architects for families who lost everything to Katrina.