The Port of Durrës/ Balluku project: It will not be built with a PPP or concession, a national asset

2024-03-21 13:23:00, Politikë CNA

The Port of Durrës/ Balluku project: It will not be built with a PPP or

Belinda Balluku

The Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, in her speech to the Assembly, gave details of the project for the Port of Durrës.

"Of course, the Port of Durres is one of the biggest projects, not only for Albania, but for the entire Balkans, as you know that the new port of Durres in Porto Romano will not only serve Albania, but is connected to two dry ports, with the port that will be built in Struga to serve North Macedonia and the port that will be built in Pristina to serve Kosovo", said the minister.

She also reacted to the opposition's accusations about this project, where she underlined that we are dealing with a public asset that cannot be built with PPP or given to other parties by concession.

"This investment is part of our commitment as a member of the alliance and it is the responsibility of the Republic of Albania to increase the percentage of defense investments in relation to the country's GDP. In this perspective, we are dealing with a public asset that cannot be built with PPP can't be concessioned to other parties, as it is a national asset of special importance, as has happened with other critical infrastructure assets. On the other hand, we are really disappointed, we feel worried that the opposition uses this project with a regional strategy to turn it into a battle horse, since the national interest is really affected here, the interest of all Albanians is affected, and this is not a matter of turning it into a political game", said Balluku.

Balluku further clarified that it is not about closing one port and opening another port, but here it is about two ports.

"Meanwhile, regarding the relocation of the Port of Durrës to the area of ??Porto Romano, let me clarify since you say that Durrës will be left without a port, it is not known if it will be built. This is the most transparent and detailed project that the Republic of Albania has done in the history of pluralism as everything, every step from the feasibility study to the detailed project and everything else has been done through international competitions. This is not about closing one port and opening another port, but here it is about for two ports. A tourist port, which will be what is today the commercial port and a commercial and military port in the Porto Romano area," she said.

According to Balluk, the costs of the port of Porto Romano are 390 million euros, this cost without VAT, anticipated income from two port projects.

"In Durrës, there are 280 million euros of direct income from the Durres Navy as a dividend, while 1 billion euros of income from taxes, taxes and contributions brought by this project, that is, the Durres Navy project, because there is a misinformation when you say that there is exemption from taxes, as there is no exemption from taxes, except for the infrastructure tax that was part of the negotiation and the agreement. For all other taxes, it will certainly perform as provided by the fiscal law in the Republic of Albania," she said. / CNA