Researcher and cultural heritage expert Auron Tare has raised concerns about tourist marina projects in Albania, stressing that the lack of proper studies and basic infrastructure could bring long-term negative consequences for coastal development.
In his statement on the show "This Week" on News24 Tare stated that the country currently does not have the necessary expertise for the construction and management of tourist marinas, recalling that in the past foreign specialists have been engaged who have assessed that these projects are not always economically sustainable.
According to him, for the functioning of a modern marina, good roads, airports, railways, a stable supply of energy and water, as well as a supporting industry for yacht repair are needed. Referring to marina projects in Albania, he mocked the expectations for the anchorage of yachts of world billionaires, mentioning names like Jeff Bezos, and calling this idea “a big joke” in the current conditions.
"A proper study by experts is needed. To my knowledge, Albania has not had proper specialists in tourist marinas, so at that time I brought 2 people to Albania, who after seeing the Albanian coastline said that marinas in our country are not profitable. Montenegro and Croatia have a good marina infrastructure. Greece has high-class marinas. To have a marina, you need good roads, an airport, a railway, water and electricity.
Every marina should have a yacht repair industry and should have beautiful cities. If you think that Jeff Bezos will anchor his yacht in Shëngjin, Vlorë, Saranda, it is a very beautiful joke. In addition to the ignorance of those who raised their hands for this law, the burden will fall on the investors. The deputies go home and no one remembers them.
Investors will most likely not get the result they expect and we will have ports that will have problems in the future.
With special laws, the coast has been sold, not being sold. If you look at the way it operates, the south from Llogaraja down has lost the hope it would have if it had been planned with local architecture, not a jumble of architecture with no connection to Albania. I think, I was in Beirut, most likely we will end up like that too. There was a tourist boom. There were many wrong constructions, it ruined the Mediterranean architecture, it made a jumble of palaces, apart from the war, but the tourist part was destroyed. Hotels haven't opened for years, they have gone bankrupt," he said.
