In the annual analysis and work priorities for this year, the Minister of Infrastructure Belinda Balluku announced the opening of the international competition for the new commercial port in Porto Romano. According to Balluku, the tender for the construction of the new port will be opened within the first quarter of this year. Faktoje’s verifications reveal that the deadline was violated by at least one year.
Esmeralda Topi
‘In the first quarter, we will open the international competition for the new port in Porto Romano’, stated the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, during the annual analysis and priorities of the department that she has been leading for five years.
Excerpt from the presentation, “2023 Achievements and 2024 Plans”
New Year, New Deadlines
Faktoje’s verifications reveal that Ministry of Infrastructure has breached the deadline for initiating the international tender for Porto Romano by at least one year. This tender is crucial for paving the way for the construction of a new commercial port in Albania.
;At the end of January 2023, based on the extensive work we are conducting with Eric Smit and Royal Haskoning, we will be prepared to initiate the international competition, open to all companies expressing specific interest.’ declared Belinda Balluku during the 2022 presentation of a 3D project for Porto Romano.
‘As long as there is no detailed project, but only these common 3D renders, there cannot be a competition for the construction of the new port. All that the Minister said today is just buying time; they have no intention of following through. Other deadlines will be violated’, says the port engineer, Tomor Spahiu, to Faktoje.
(Faktoje’s verification can be found here)
Had the international competition for the new port in Porto Romano been initiated by the end of January, the winner was expected to be announced in July of the preceding year. As previously warned in an article by Faktoje, this is the first crawl of the project. The Port Authority justified the public breach of deadlines by citing the financing method of the new port.
‘Upon concluding the pre-determined form of financing, which will also facilitate the provision of funds and the necessary budget for initiating the first phase of the project, the international tender for interested companies in implementing this project will be officially launched.’ was outlined in the official response of Durres Port Authority to Faktoje last July.
The new commercial port in Porto Romano is estimated to cost 390 Million Euros (excluding VAT), with nearly half of the funding to be provided by the government and the remaining portion by the private sector. More precisely, the state budget is expected to contribute 180 Million Euros, while the remaining 210 Million Euros will be provided by the private company. Contrary to the initial statement, the Port Authority cannot undertake the construction of the new port through self-financing due to a lack of funds (Faktoje’s verification can be found here)
Conclusion
Minister Balluku’s statement regarding the initiation of the international tender for Porto Romano this year is merely a recycling of an old plan in a new year. The relocation of the commercial port from Durres to Porto Romano has encountered delays and deadline breaches, which Faktoje has verified through various articles in 2023.
