Albania has won the case against the Kurum company regarding the termination of the concession contract for the container terminal at the Port of Durrës.
The Arbitration Court in Washington issued its decision on July 26, in favour of the Albanian government, following a claim by the Turkish company for damages caused by the premature closure of the concession, which was supposed to last 30 years but remained active for only nine years.
Kurum won the contract to manage the container terminal at the Port of Durrës in 2011, but in 2017, the Ministry of Infrastructure cancelled it, even initiating legal action due to the company’s failure to meet contractual conditions.
Both the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeals confirmed the Ministry’s right to terminate the contract, and in 2020, bailiffs went to remove the Turkish company from the Port of Durrës.
In response to these actions, the Turkish company filed for arbitration on 23 September 2020, and for four years, the Arbitration Court reviewed the dispute, with the Turkish company seeking €100 million in compensation.
A similar bill is being paid by Albania to the investor Francesco Becchetti, who sued Albania over disagreements regarding the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Kalivaç. Meanwhile, the container terminal in Durrës is now operated by “Hili Company Limited”, a company registered in Malta.
