Durrës Yacht Marina was initially presented as one of the largest foreign investments to be realized in Albania and that it would transform the city of Durrës into the epicenter of yacht tourism in Europe.
When the contract with Mohamed Alabbar’s family’s private company was approved by the Assembly, it was clear that what was said had no connection to the project being approved. Rather than the tourist marina (which is planned to be built eventually), the country’s most important commercial port would be replaced by a massive construction project with palaces and hotels.
With one difference: the financing would not be from the UAE-based company, but from the buyers.
In the business plan, the company undertook to invest only 6.8% of the project (3.4% bank loan) and the vast majority of the money would be provided by the conclusion of pre-sale contracts. The land on which it was built and the infrastructure tax were contributions from the Albanian state, which has a 33% stake in the Durrës Marina company.
In the end, after investing 80 million euros of its own money, Eagle Hills Real Estate Development planned to earn 572 million euros, with a 615% return on investment! After the propaganda that the money that would finance Durrës Marina was foreign investment fell, the public was sold the fable that the project would be among the best in terms of engineering works and architecture, since the firm of one of the leaders of Emaar Group, the company that had built the Burj Khalifa, Marina Dubai, Dubai Mall, etc., would build it. Now, this facade has also fallen.
The design was done by Albanian companies and they are doing the construction. Of the 5 buildings that are being erected, two have sunk by several centimeters and are at risk of collapse. If you look at the balance sheets of the Durrës Marina company, you can easily see that the value of the works for 2023 and 2024 is 41 million euros, of which the investment of the Eagle Hills company is 7.4 million euros. Most of the works have been financed with money from sales contracts through which 36 million euros have been collected.
With this, the investor has gambled with the money of the clients (most of whom are Albanians)! This risk has arisen due to the financing model that the deputies of the Parliament have approved in the project contract and that occurs as a phenomenon in the entire construction market in Albania. The protection for the consumer is zero: he gives the financing money, assumes every risk – while the investor who has secured the construction permit reaps the profit! But in addition, the figures show that the story of the Durrës Marina project brings losses not only to those who have bought apartments, but to all Albanian citizens.
An asset worth hundreds of millions of euros, such as the Port of Durres, is being demolished, while another project is being financed with Albanian tax money that costs 390 million euros for Phase One alone, to pave the way for the 13.3 million euro investment (along with the capital it has added in 2025) of the Dubai company, Eagle Hills Real Estate!
Ola Xama është gazetare në fushën e ekonomisë prej 15 vitesh, e fokusuar së fundi në zhanrin e analizave dhe investigimeve. Është autore e emisionit investigativ ‘Kronos’ në MCN Tv, dhe më parë ka punuar si gazetare në fushën e ekonomisë në televizionet Euronews Albania, Klan Tv dhe Vizion Plus. Është autore e dhjetra investigimeve që lidhen me financat, pastrimin e parave dhe abuzimet e autoriteve publike me qytetarët. Është diplomuar pranë Universitetit të Tiranës në degën Gazetari dhe ka përfunduar studimet master në të njëjtën degë.