Sebi Alla – If you ask, you find Istanbul, but if you search for “Durana” Park in Xhafzotaj, Durrës, no one will direct you correctly.
Everyone shrugs: “I swear we know, what is this park?”
In the end, only one resident directs us to the place where it is theoretically located, as one of his friends had owned the land there, who he says took it away “for no reason” for “public interests.”
“…Durana Tech Park comes to life and moves from a plan and legislation on paper, to the reality of a large number of companies that have expressed interest and as of today receive the certificate of membership of this new digital society, where our main goal is not to bring as many foreign companies as possible, but our main goal is to engage as many Albanian talents as possible…”, said Prime Minister Edi Rama on April 2, 2025, as a “3D” project was presented behind his back.
But part of the “talents” that benefited from this (still) virtual park are also local technology companies that are suspected of having obtained dubious tenders developed by the National Agency for the Protection of Intellectual Property, for which there is an in-depth investigation and eight arrest warrants have been issued.
“Tax haven”?
The only non-technological, but biological “life” is the wild grass in ponds.
These are the only “residents”, although registration certificates have been issued for this (so far) imaginary park for companies in the field of digital technology.
Accusations were made about the park in question by former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj (wanted by SPAK) and then by the opposition.
They declare that this park, which does not yet physically exist, was built as a tax haven to favor companies involved in corrupt affairs.
“…There is no building here, no real company, no employment, but there is a sophisticated robbery scheme,” said Berisha , showing several photos from the site where the park will be built.
Faktoje verified on the ground whether the park was being implemented as Berisha objected, but to this day, not a single brick has been found, categorizing his statement as partially true as long as Faktoje could only confirm the first part, the one related to the construction of the park.
In a statement to A2 CNN, the park’s administrator, Florensa Kovaçi Haxhi, said that the park is currently in the virtual phase, while the physical construction will be completed within the 36-month deadline provided by law. “The park opened the call in the spring of 2025 and the first contract was signed in June 2025. To date, there are 78 companies registered or in the final phase of registration, much more than the initial expectation of 11 companies in the first year,” she said.
Meanwhile, registered companies receive significant fiscal benefits, under a specific law on the creation, organization and operation of technology parks.
3D Park
In 2022, the Albanian Investment Corporation announced the project for the construction of the Technology Park, based on several VKMs for both the form of operation and the location where it would be established.
With the name “Durana” (a combination of the letters of Durrës and Tirana), it was decided that the facility would be physically located in Xhafzotaj .
The construction would extend over 140,000 square meters of land, while the value of the works is 20 million euros. It includes a construction area of 21,000 meters with buildings serving as offices, residential buildings, a hotel and parking.
Currently, there is not even a fence around the place where this park will be built. Everything is up in the air.
However, for several months now, technology companies based mainly in Tirana, which provide IT services and other electronic technologies, surveillance camera systems, computers, software, etc., have been registered as “residents” in Xhafzotaj.
