Exclusive / Arben Ahmetaj drops a bombshell: Albania risks being left without a port! What is happening with Alabar

In an exclusive interview with Çim Peka Live, former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj reveals what he describes as a scandal unfolding at Porto Romano, involving not only procedural irregularities but also serious financial and legal issues.

Ahmetaj warns that Albania risks being left without a port and facing a real threat of international arbitration. The company owned by Alabar, which is developing the project, has requested the release of “Gate 4,” a move that would paralyze the operation of the existing port. The government’s refusal could push the country into an international legal dispute with severe financial consequences and the possibility that Albania would be left without a functioning port.

The former number two in the government also speaks about a MEMO signed by the director of the Port of Durrës and specialists, which documents serious deficiencies in the project, yet still orders that payments be made.

Ironically, the new port is projected to have smaller capacities than the current one, both in terms of terminals and passenger numbers.

Excerpts from the Interview

Arben Ahmetaj:

As far as the Port of Durrës is concerned, the file is extremely extensive. It involves all three aspects: procedural, financial, and legal.

I am talking about Porto Romano.

To explain it to citizens, a FIDIC contract has been offered. A FIDIC contract is a type of contract with no real ceiling. It may start with a capped fund, but as work progresses, new tasks emerge and additional financing follows.

This is extremely risky and clearly shows, something I can substantiate, that the project has serious and verified deficiencies, documented in a MEMO that currently exists at the Port of Durrës, signed by Kreshnik (editor’s note: Kreshnik Bajraktari), the port director, and specialists, detailing all the shortcomings of the project. Despite this, he was instructed to proceed with the payments.

That is one of the problems.

Second: the designer, a Dutch company, has also been appointed as the project manager, Royal Haskoning (editor’s note: Royal Haskoning DHV). In which country in the world have you seen administrative functions assigned to the project designer and manager? They were given these responsibilities and paid nearly €13 million.

Moreover, there is a conflict of interest involving employees of ARKONS, an Albanian company that participated in the design phase and whose staff are also involved in project management, meaning both the design contract and the project management contract.

What does project management mean? I will explain it to Albanians. These people would decide who the winner is, access the system, and carry out the evaluations. In other words, the state’s responsibilities are handed over to a private entity. This is a direct procedural violation of procurement law.

Another point, which is extremely important: Albanians are not aware that the port is planned in two phases, one now and another in 2060. This is in the contract and in the plan.

In practice, the port that may eventually be built, experts believe the seabed is sandy and difficult to build on, though I am not a specialist and will not go into technical details, will have very high costs. Sediment inflows are significant, and despite a depth of 14 meters, the basin fills up quickly due to the sandy conditions, making construction difficult.

Practically speaking, compared to the Port of Vlorë today, we are talking about the existing port. It has four terminals, with a total quay length of 2,000 linear meters.

Not to mention that the Port of Durrës currently handles 1.5 million passengers; the maximum capacity of the new port will be 1 million passengers.

We are talking about a risk that goes beyond financial concerns. We are talking about the risk that Albania could be left without a port.

Because Dubai Durrës Port, Alabar’s company, has sent official letters requesting the immediate release of Gate 4. But if Gate 4 is released, Albania will no longer have a port.

And tomorrow, Muhamed Alabar would have the right to take the case to arbitration, which would bury us. Because under the contract he has, we are allegedly failing to release the required spaces. I personally held a completely different position regarding the structure of that section. But this is the reality.