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Is the Alabar project failing? The Durrës Marina is far from the promises of billions in investments

2026-02-27 21:20:23 / AKTUALITET ALFA PRESS

Is the Alabar project failing? The Durrës Marina is far from the promises

The transformation of the Port of Durres into one of the largest tourist marinas in Europe was presented as the government's strategic megaproject after the 2021 elections. Prime Minister Edi Rama promised billions of euros in investments and thousands of jobs, while the project was linked to businessman from the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed Alabar.

But the documents and the actual progress of the investment show a completely different picture than the one promised. The project, developed by the company Eagle Hills Real Estate Development in partnership with the Albanian state through the Durrës Marina company, envisages the construction of 1.3 million square meters of residences, hotels and a yacht port with 280 berths.

Contrary to the initial presentation as a strong foreign investment, it turns out that the real capital of the investor is minimal. Of the 2.3 billion euros of anticipated investments, only 80 million euros are own funds and 80 million euros are bank loans, while the difference, over 2 billion euros, would be provided by pre-sales of apartments.

In fact, the sales began in August 2022, before the final approval of the agreement in the Assembly and before the company had ownership rights over the land of the Port of Durres. According to the balance sheets, during this period, around 750 thousand euros were collected, without completing the legal procedures for the transfer of the property.

The joint venture was officially established in January 2023, with the private company owning 67% of the shares and the Albanian state 33%. However, according to calculations made on public land, exempted taxes and costs associated with the construction of the new port in Porto Romano, the state's contribution amounts to around 665 million euros.

At the end of the project, the state is expected to receive around 515 million euros (dividends and taxes), which implies a loss of around 150 million euros. While the private party, with a much lower initial investment, projects profits of over 570 million euros.

The relocation of the commercial port to Porto Romano is estimated to cost 390 million euros for the first phase alone, a figure that is not reflected in the share allocation formula for the tourism project. There is also no clear valuation of the existing Port of Durres asset that is being transformed.

Three years after the start of the works, only 3 buildings have been completed and 2 more are under construction. The value of the investments for the years 2023–2024 is around 41 million euros, while the real capital invested by the private company is estimated at only 10 million euros, around 12% of the promised amount of 80 million euros.

Even pre-sales revenue is lower than anticipated, with around 36 million euros collected in two years. The number of employees in the company is 55, a far cry from the thousands of jobs initially promised.

If the project continues at this pace, the first phase could last up to 30 years, while its full implementation would require several decades. Faced with these figures, the question that remains is: are we dealing with a strategic investment or a project that risks failing, costing the state more than the private investor? /Piranjat Show

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