A new legal initiative filed in the Albanian Parliament by the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group aims to radically change the way tourist ports in the country will be built and operated, openly ignoring competition and public interest. Through an addition to law no. 9710, dated 10.4.2007 “On tourist ports”, the majority through MP Zamira Sina, seeks to grant strategic investors the right to build and operate ports without undergoing any competition or concession procedure.
According to the proposed document, when an entity benefits from the status of "Strategic Investor" and the tourist port is part of its project, the construction and operation of this port is "excluded from the provisions" of the current law, which requires competitive procedures. This means that the ports, which are national assets, will no longer be subject to a competition for the best offer, but will be awarded directly to private entities that have received the blessing of the Strategic Investments Committee.
In the explanatory report of the draft law, the majority acknowledges that under the current legal framework, tourist ports should be awarded by concession or through other competitive forms. However, they argue that the application of these procedures parallel to the law on strategic investments creates "overlapping procedures" and "difficulties in the implementation of projects".
In the name of "speed" and "unity of the project", the initiative aims for the contract for these ports to no longer be concluded through an open competition, but for the conditions and documentation to be determined simply by a Decision of the Council of Ministers. This practice increases the risk of clientelism, effectively turning tourist ports into private ports controlled by a handful of investors.
What raises the most doubts is the fact that this draft law, filed in February 2026, was not foreseen in the analytical plan of projects for 2026. Despite this, the majority is rushing to pass it, claiming that this will promote "elite tourism", although in reality it is eliminating the last legal protection that guaranteed that public coastal assets would not be given away without competition.
This initiative marks a step back for legal certainty and equality before the law, creating a privileged path for those that the government classifies as "strategic", while closing the door to transparent public procurement practices.
Two words about the proposer: The one who has undertaken to sign this law that clearly favors a handful of people is Zamira Sina. She became an MP from Edi Rama's safe lists after she had insulted and insulted the prime minister under his office, from Lulzim Basha's Freedom Tent.
In the May 11 campaign, she "shone" in Vlora, as she told voters, "Open your eyes, people, what Vlora has become.""We can't bring you the moon to earth."
