TIRANA, November 24 – The grant of the Investment Fund for the Western Balkans for the port of Durrës has been cancelled. This is what the European Union office in Tirana told Radio Free Europe on Thursday. The reason for this decision was the modification of the project.
As a result of the modification of the project and the change of use of the current port, the EU has canceled the remaining WBIF (Western Balkans Investment Fund) investment grant for the previous port project, it is stated in the answer which informed that consultations with the government representatives about investment priorities are continuing.
The value of this grant was 28 million euros.
The project envisioned the rehabilitation of piers 1 and 2 in the West Terminal of the Port of Durrës, where almost all goods coming from abroad are processed. The intervention was necessary since one of them was built in the years 1945-1951 and the other in 1972. The only interventions were made in 1994. The project, also financed by the EU, provided for the expansion of the surface of the quays, as well as the increase of the depth of the designed sites to accommodate even larger ships.
Meanwhile, the agreement signed between the Albanian government and the investor from Dubai, Mohamed Alaabar transforms the current port into a yacht port and turns Durrës, as Prime Minister Rama has said, into the “Dubai of the Mediterranean”, while the commercial activity will be moved to Porto Romano . Currently, a private company operates in this area and oil cargoes are processed there.
A decision adopted by the government in June 2021 stipulated to expand the existing port in Porto Romano, thus paving the way for the transfer of the commercial port there and the construction of the tourist port by the Arab company.
In the response of the EU office in Tirana, it is stated that “as regards the trade agreement between Albania and the United Arab Emirates, the EU will continue to monitor the importance for the SAA and compliance with it in dialogue with the Albanian institutions.”
The agreement on the Seaport of Durres was adopted by majority’s votes in the Assembly on Thursday amidst strong clashes between PM Edi Rama and his followers on one hand and the opposition on the other. /Argumentum.al
