“The most important tourist project, a new locomotive of economic and social development for Albania”.
With these words, on January 30th, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the signing of the agreement between the Albanian government and the Eagle Hills Real Estate Development company, owned by the real estate developer Mohamed Ali Alabbar, based in Abu Dhabi.
The “Durrës Yacht & Marina” project will be implemented by a public-private partnership, with the establishment of a joint company in which the Albanian state will have a 33% stake.
This is the largest direct foreign investment in the country (about 2 billion euros) and the most important tourism project. It will transform Durres into one of the main tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, with a new development model in terms of sustainability and new solutions to ensure green energy and energy efficiency. Additionally, the creation of 12,000 new jobs will have a profound economic impact on the entire region.
The project comes under the Albanian government’s ambitious strategy to consolidate and improve port infrastructure throughout the country. This strategy envisages the shift of transport operations outside urban areas and the redevelopment of the port of Durres into a luxury tourist port for cruise ships and high-level tourist services.
This investment, Rama said, demonstrates the enormous potential of Albania, a country that has embarked on a path of modernization and intends to create an attractive and safe environment for foreign entrepreneurs.
