Durrës Marina/Malltezi Project: Three Ways It Can Be Stopped

2026-04-27 09:28:00, Aktualitet CNA

The Head of the Environment Department at the Democratic Party, Jamarbër Malltezi, has commented on the "Durrës Marina" project, stating that according to him it can be stopped through several institutional and civic channels.

Malltezi said that one of the ways, according to him, is to engage the citizens of Durrës and exert pressure on the Municipal Council to cancel the project.

He added that local government has a crucial role in planning and controlling the territory, emphasizing that any decision at this level can affect the fate of the project.

As a second option, Malltezi mentioned the Constitutional Court, claiming that the project could be legally opposed if, according to him, international agreements such as the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union and the Aarhus Convention have been violated.

Third, he mentioned the possibility of a local referendum, arguing that the citizens of Durrës should be asked through a vote about the fate of the project.

"Look, the port of Durres has a chance to be saved. How can it be saved? First, by the citizens of Durres rising up, by putting pressure on the Durres Municipal Council to reject this as a project.

Let us bear in mind that, although the Sultan in Tirana has approved it as a project, in the end, planning and control of the territory is the responsibility of the local government. And the local government in Durrës is the Municipal Council. So, if the citizens of Durrës manage to put pressure on the Municipal Council, this project will be nullified, that is, it will become null and return to its previous state. Secondly, this project could become null and the entire port of Durrës could be saved, if the Constitutional Court will have statesmen and not scoundrels.

If there are statesmen who want to respect the law, then it is enough to file a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court to tell them that the government, unfortunately, has violated two international agreements to which Albania is a party and must respect, such as, one, the SAA, and two, the Aarhus Convention.

Both of these, Albania has ratified, are therefore legally binding, and prevail over Albanian laws. If we consider that Alabbar's project, Edi Rama has made it a law with a special law, a private, nominative law, but in any case, international agreements prevail over local laws.

Therefore, if it goes to the Constitutional Court and it is shown that either the Aarhus Convention or the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union have been violated, these prevail and the project should normally be nullified, that is, canceled.

Third, how this could be overturned would be through a local referendum. The citizens of Durrës have the right to demand a local referendum. We have not been asked, no one has held a public hearing for us, therefore, we have our doubts, we do not believe that this is the best way to develop our city, so we want a local referendum.

"In the local referendum, if they want to keep it, they can keep it, if they want to overthrow it, they overthrow it. So, these are the only three ways in which the port of Durres can, can be saved," Malltezi said./ CNA