The project in the bay of Kalaja e Turres is being realised by the Swiss holding company Finsec, and construction work on the harbour facility began in October 2014. Initially, a breakwater will be built to create protected space for the 650-place marina. Porto Albania is conveniently located for crews travelling through to Croatia, Greece or Italy: Located around 10 nautical miles south of Durres, it is only around 70 miles to the first attractive harbour in Montenegro, Budva, and around 90 to Corfu.
As the Albanian coast only has one marina so far, Orikum, just south of Vlore, the harbour is very welcome for sailors. Especially as the Swiss Alexander Auer, president of the holding company, emphasises that Porto Albania will be a port of entry. The facility will be complemented on land by a hotel, spa, shops, restaurants, golf course and parkland. The declared aim is also to attract mega yacht owners to the location. The country's coastline otherwise offers only a few well-protected anchor bays. Alternatively, crews can call at larger city harbours, but these are not really geared towards yachts. A somewhat cumbersome bureaucracy and less comfortable berths are still the rule there.
However, Alexander Auer also reported on changes in the country at boot in Düsseldorf: "The moratorium imposed by the state, which prohibited Albanians from owning private yachts for a long time, has now expired. We assume that a domestic water sports sector will also emerge as a result."
However, anyone wishing to call at the port will have to be patient, as the first construction phase will not be completed before autumn 2016. Information on the website of Porto Albania.
Andreas Fritsch
Editor Travel
