Yesterday, it was officially acknowledged by the government that the tender for the construction of the new commercial port in Porto Romano, one of the country's most important infrastructure works, has been canceled, after the only company remaining in the competition, Archirodon, did not submit a financial offer.
The company's withdrawal risks leaving the country without a port, at least for the time being, as commercial activity from the existing Port must be transferred, due to the construction of the Marina Durrës project.
Infrastructure Minister Enea Karakaçi admitted that the tender had been cancelled, while further speaking of "attempts to sabotage the Port". He said that the project would be finalized, but without giving a date.
However, although everything has returned to zero, the Port on paper has "eaten" us 13.8 million euros so far. This money was paid to the company that designed the project of the New Integrated Commercial Port of Durrës in Porto Romano.
The tender for the construction of the Port in Porto Romano was worth 400 million euros and financed by the State Budget.
Explanations from OPEN DATA
The tender for Phase 1 of the Port in Porto Romano failed – but how much has it cost so far?
When a public competition fails, other procedures usually follow that often avoid competition. The main question remains: how many millions of euros have been spent from the state budget on this process so far?
Tender for the design – 13.8 million euros
On September 12, 2022, the Albanian Government announced the tender with the object of Drafting the Detailed Technical Design of the New Integrated Commercial Port of Durrës in Porto Romano.
The source of financing was from the institution's own funds.
Limit fund: 1.36 billion lek (about 13.8 million euros)
This fund was increased by about 20% by decision published in Bulletin no. 129, year 2022
The tender was marked with a "red flag" for competition risk:
14 economic operators participated in the competition,
9 of them were disqualified.
The winner was declared the union of operators:
"HASKONINGDHV NEDERLAND BV – ADEC ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY LLC – ABKONS sh.pk – TAULANT sh.pk – GEO-ENG sh.pk"
Tender link: (Open Procurement Albania) https://openprocurement.al/.../vieë/id/7637/isbashki/0
But the design fee is not the only expense for a project that has already marked two failed tenders.
Consulting contract without competition
By Decision of the Council of Ministers no. 427, dated 26.06.2024, the government authorized the Durrës Port Authority to negotiate directly and conclude a consultancy agreement with the international company Royal Haskoning DHV.
This contract was related to the support for:
the processes of competition,
contracting,
construction,
and supervision of the new integrated Port in Porto Romano.
This authorization is valid for up to 3 years, based on the amendments to the law on public procurement (law no. 16/2024).
https://openprocurement.al/publiccompany/other/11757VKM.pdf
However:
The value of this negotiated contract without competition has not been made public.
It is also not known whether the contract provides for the consultant's liability in case of failure of the tenders.
Tender for the construction – 39.3 billion lek
The tender for the construction of the Port in Porto Romano was announced twice and canceled twice.
The first tender
was announced in July 2024,
it was canceled a few months later,
no company submitted a bid.
The second tender
was re-announced on December 24, 2024,
the procedure lasted about 15 months
, it was canceled again in March 2026.
Tender value:
39.32 billion lekë
https://openprocurement.al/.../vieë/id/11943/isbashki/0
Large international companies with experience in port construction participated in this competition:
Archirodon Construction (Overseas) Company Limited
China Communications Construction Company (CCCC)
Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors BV
Webuild SpA
BOE “Jan De Nul NV – Soletanche Bachy International – Vinci Construction Geoinfrastructure”
After the pre-qualification phase, only:
Archirodon Construction
Van Oord were qualified
. While:
China Communications Construction Company
Webuild
Jan De Nul were disqualified
. On 25.09.2025, according to the Open Data dataset of the Public Procurement Agency, only one qualified economic offer remained in the procedure.
A complaint for disqualification was also filed, which was not reviewed by the Public Procurement Commission.
On 11 March 2026, the line ministry verbally announced the second cancellation of the tender.
What happens now with the Port of Porto Romano?
Several scenarios are possible:
Contracting without tender
Realization through concession
Re-announcement of another tender
Endless postponement of the project
In the end
Everything that has happened so far with the new Port of Durres in Porto Romano, a strategic project for Corridor VIII and the economic development of the region, can be summed up in one word:
Failure.
