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Shkruar nga PamfletiThe only company in the race did not submit a bid, while the project is canceled amid criticism and investigations. Earlier, Prime Minister Edi Rama had warned that those trying to block the project "have made the wrong calculations."
Following criticism from the Americans, the tender procedure for the construction of the new commercial port in Porto Romano has been canceled.
This came after the only company remaining in the competition did not submit its financial bid within the specified deadline.
The Archirodon company, which was the only one remaining in the competition in the final phase of the tender, did not submit its financial offer on March 9.
The tender, worth around 400 million euros, aimed to build a new commercial port in the Porto Romano area.
American demands for Porto Romano
The head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Tirana, Grant Van Cleeve, has sent an email to Prime Minister Edi Rama and several senior government officials regarding the Porto Romano port project and the tender scheduled for March 9.
In his letter, Van Cleeve describes the decision on this project as a strategic moment for Albania, emphasizing that ports are usually built only once a century and that their initial dimension determines the country's economic and geopolitical potential for decades.
According to Van Cleeve, the current project for Porto Romano is very limited in size and risks not utilizing Albania's strategic potential in the region.
In this context, he emphasizes that Albania has the opportunity to become a logistics hub for Southeast Europe if Porto Romano is developed on a larger scale.
At the end of the letter, he requested that the tender for Porto Romano scheduled for March 9 be postponed, so that the project can be reviewed in line with NATO requirements and the development of Corridor 8.
Van Cleeve also proposes that the project be implemented through a development model co-financed by international partners, including companies from the United States, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, as well as with additional financial support from NATO.
Prime Minister Rama's threats regarding the 400 million euro tender
On July 30, 2024, the competition for the construction of the new commercial port in Porto Romano was first opened, but after 20 months, there is still no winner.
For this, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that there are attempts to hinder the project out of jealousy, and even threatened to say that those who are hindering it have made the wrong calculations.
"It is one of the most complicated processes, perhaps the most complicated that we have done. It is a strategic plan that has also created jealousy. Jealousies are common between countries that are at certain stages of development. Those who are fighting the project, those who are leaving no stone unturned to block the project, we know who they are and I made the wrong calculations, because the project will be done. I do not have a plan B only for the European Union," Rama said at the meeting of the SP group.
Investigation into 'red flag' tender
Two weeks ago, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation landed at the offices of the Durrës Port Authority and seized all the competition documentation for the construction of the new commercial port in Porto Romano.
The tender for this project is 393 million euros excluding VAT and has failed several times, and in the open competition in December 2024, 5 consortiums submitted their applications and only one of them passed the final stage to submit a technical and economic bid.
The deadline for this competition closed on March 9 at 2:00 p.m. If the consortium of operators “Archirodon Construction (overseas) Company Limited - Deme Dredging nv – Società Italiana Dragaggi spa” has not submitted a complete bid, the competition will be completely canceled. If the bid is submitted in full, its review will continue, and a decision will then be made as to whether or not it is declared the winner.
The construction of the new Port is planned in two phases. Unlike the Port of Durres, it offers a greater depth of water in the basin, allowing the anchoring of larger ships with a greater load. In the first phase alone, it is expected to process 500 thousand containers, from the approximately 180 thousand that are currently processed in the current Port.
Suspicions of Russian financing in the construction of Porto Romano
The opposition has denounced that behind the winners of the Porto Romano project lie the interests of NATO's adversaries, Russia.
According to DP leader Sali Berisha, Rama wants the port to be built by the Russians, but this has been discovered by NATO allies.
"Edi Rama has his black hand in the destruction of the Port of Durres, a national asset worth 4 billion euros. He tried to attract NATO into his corrupt affairs, but he failed miserably, and now that there are clear offers from strategic partners, he wants to steal the Port of Durres and build it with the Russians or others who have close strategic interests with Albania and NATO," Berisha said.
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