A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between the UAE-based Eagle Hills Real Estate Development shpk, represented by the leading international investor Muhammed El Alabbar, and Albanian Seaports Development Company for the construction of the largest Mediterranean tourist port of Durres, an investment worth $2 billion with an incredible impact on development of the country’s economy.
The long-awaited deal is finalized following a series of steps, procedures, discussions, technical talks and tough negotiations that lasted around three years.
The deal seeks to turn the port into a hub for tourists, trade, and luxury travel and will include a yacht marina, shops, apartments, and leisure and hospitality facilities.
“We will build something so special that people would never like to leave once here. I promise,” the investor Muhammed El Alabbar said as he addressed the signing ceremony.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said in his remarks that the Durres Yachts and Marina project would be the largest tourism investment in the region and its domino effect on development of Albania’s entire coastline will be a spectacular one.
* * *
Earlier today we were visiting Ankara and had a meeting with President Erdoğan. We had a very fraternal and cordial meeting, as it is always the case, and he wished that I could stay a bit longer, but I told him I have to go fly back to Albania immediately for a very good and strong reason, as we are finalizing an intense work and tough negotiations, including a series of trips to and fro, as well as even disputes with me Muhammed El Alabbar during the process and we are finally ready to sign the Memorandum of Understanding that will pave the way to the special piece of legislation to allow the start of the investment to build the largest tourist port in the Mediterranean.
Few minutes ago we were discussing the number of contracts our dear friend Muhammed has signed on similar major investment projects.
I actually asked him about it as he was still furious after the recent heated discussion with the negotiating team and he simply answered: “I don’t remember.” I said: Why are you complaining about our team that is signing a contract of this size for the first time?!
So, it is about an investor with an undisputable global reputation and it is also about a strong will stemming from a special friendship between Prince Muhammed Bin Zayed, Albania and Albanians. It is a history of brotherhood with a cornerstone of incredible importance for the Albanian history, the immediate presence in Kukes to provide concrete assistance and aid to our brothers and sisters from Kosovo, when they were being displaced under the ethnic cleansing phenomenon and Muhammed Bin Zayed is returning back with yet another extraordinary demonstration of good will by sending here Muhammed Alabbar and his support for an investment worth over $2 billion.
As the Minister rightly noted, this is perhaps the largest investment in the region, not only in Albania and it is an investment that has gone through a series of steps. It would be unimaginable, for the sake of truth, to have such an investment in tourism in a country that started to develop as a country with a competitive tourist vision when we took office. This is the truth. Prior to this, we were facing a situation that everyone has fortunately forgotten now. Many have forgotten that Albania lacked tourism. We lacked domestic tourism and we had just an inexistent tourism industry that survived thanks to our Kosovo brothers and sisters.
It was earlier today that I was briefed on this season’s tourist numbers that speak for themselves regarding the number of international visitors, in addition to the visitors from Kosovo, who now enter the country without having to be registered as the Albanian border has been open since June 1.
A total of 604,000 tourists, including Kosovo citizens, visited the country in June, whereas 876,000 international tourists, not Kosovo visitors, entered Albania this month alone.
Tirana ranks second after Antalya in a recent ranking of the cities experiencing the highest increase in visitor numbers in the whole Mediterranean region this year. One should not forget that it was just in 2014, when we started reigning on the horrible abuse of the territory, which is an ongoing challenge.
We went on approving the national general plan, the first of its kind in history, in 2016. We then approved the national maritime transport plan and the port infrastructure, proposing expansion and relocation of the existing Durres seaport, where the new commercial seaport will be built under a fantastic design by one of the world’s most prestigious design studios, Royal Haskoning, and the existing old port, as it has also been the case in every other country that have developed tourism industry – and this has been the case with Barcelona, ports in France, Italy, Greece and Turkey where the existing seaports, commercial hubs of main cities across the world, have been relocated to give way to tourist ports. Today’s deal is signed after the law No. 107 was approved and ratified to clear the way for an economic cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Albania and the United Arab Emirates, with Durres port being one of three major development projects strongly supported by the Crown Prince, who agreed on these projects during our visit there.
Eagle Hills company has been established and it will be personally headed and run by Mr. Alabbar, precisely the company currently building the Belgrade waterfront, an investment that made the headlines back then and not only that, but we were also told to take a look at Montenegro, to take a look at Serbia, a landlocked country, yet developing major investment projects, forgetting our past as a country with its sea being seen as an enemy or as an enemy’s area for centuries long, and during the communist regime in particular. However, today we are signing a Memorandum of Understanding that paves the way to the new legislation to finally conclude the negotiations on an exemplary contract, which will definitely be the best answer to all of those who have speculated and didn’t spare the worst allegations over this project, one of the many designed to transform not only Durres, but Albania. As Mr. Alabbar, this is not just about more than 12,000 quality new jobs, it is not just about more than 1000 yachts that will bring consumers to Durres and will incredibly increase consumption level, because it is precisely what we actually need for our tourism industry to be taken to a whole new level. The project is not just about the hotels, bars, restaurants, theatres or residential buildings due to be constructed on that site. This is not also about the fact that the port’s construction, the property value of all the citizens of Durres will increase exponentially, and the value of all the hotels on the coastline will increase. This is about the completely different image that Albania will have in the world.
Construction of the Port of Montenegro alone ushered in a new era for the neighbouring Montenegro. Montenegro’s higher monthly wages rate is a result of the path opened by the Port of Montenegro project. The Port of Montenegro is a gem, yet no comparison lines can be drawn with what is about to be built here in Durres; namely the largest tourist port in the Mediterranean, a seaport comparable to Dubai Marina, also built by the investor hired to build Durres Yachts and Marina.
This port too will open up a new development perspective, just like the new commercial port will and the Albanian state, in this case, won’t be the one as always perceived, merely the entity that gives away the land site to an investor and the latter doing its job, while the state reaping the benefits deriving from the investment. There are actually such deals. But this is not the case, because the Albanian state will be a shareholder in this project, a partner. However, this has yet to be decided as the negotiations are still underway and which will be finalized soon and the negotiations outcome will be announced once the deal is forwarded for approval to the Parliament of Albania.
In the meantime, work on construction of the tourist port, along with the new commercial harbour is already underway in Vlora. We inspected the ongoing construction work together with the Minister. A new tourist port will be built in Vlora too. Construction of a tourist port is also underway in the town of Saranda, while work continues on the design for the tourist port in Shengjin. Tirana Airport is clearly showing the incredible potential we are unleashing and expanding the country’s economic reality after taking the concession contract from the hands of a foreign company that made the airport one of Europe’s most expensive, while offering miserable service. The airport has now become competitive and Albanian passengers are now offered low-cost flights and much lower price tickets after clearing the way to fair competition. The new airport’s terminal, where the passports and ID checks are carried out electronically, is an innovation few countries are now applying. The Kukes Airport is operational and is steadily developing step by step. It is actually developing slowly, but steadily and it will deliver on the goals it has been designed for. Work on construction of Vlora international airport is in full swing and the airport will become operational on schedule. The tender for construction of Saranda airport will be launched soon and the project will complete this new infrastructure of the country that nobody could even imagine that there was once a place in Albania, with tourism being just a local activity, but with the current challenge being the effort to take tourism to a whole new level. In this context, Durres tourist port will bring a new culture. The Eagle Hills’ investment, with Mohamed Alabbar as the steersman, is actually also a significant know-how transfer on how to move to a new level of tourism. It is not just about building luxury hotels. It is not just a matter of building beautiful marinas, but it is about knowing how to manage, communicate and attract visitors from all over the world. Durres Marina will definitely clear the way for entire Albania’s coastal areas and not for Durres alone. This is definitely for sure. The tourist port’s domino effect will be a spectacular one and I would like to thank and appreciate Mr. Alabbar for his commitment and patience, because the negotiating process hasn’t been easy at all. We have been trying to explain to him. Albania is a EU candidate country that had its accession negotiations opened most recently and we have been negotiating about this project prior to the decision of the European Council to open the accession talks with our country. Therefore we have to respect a framework that is different from Egypt’s framework so to say, with all the due respect for that country, where things can be done faster and under less procedural issues. On the other hand, Mr. Alabbar, I am not going to name any other country, but we have acted much faster than some certain EU member states and we hope we will remain as such and we don’t slow down as was the case with the EU accession process.
I would also like to thank the entire team that resisted in the face of an individual with a whole experience and an archive of contracts and deals and I am confident we have succeeded in finalizing a contract we as representatives of the Albanian state are all proud of, but it is also a deal which suits to the investor to embark and deliver on an investment that, as he already said, will bring about a new quality life in Albania.
Thank you very much!
