
EMS Shipping, the German company that had the concession of the eastern terminal in the Port of Durrës, went to arbitration with strong claims against the Albanian government.
According to the Lawsuit in the International Court of Washington for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, the German company demanded from the Albanian government 40 million euros in damages for unilateral violation of the concession agreement.
EMS argued in its lawsuit that through the project for the construction of the Port and the tourist resort in the place where the Commercial Port of Durrës is currently located, the Albanian government had caused great financial damage, making it practically impossible to exercise its concessionary right . The parties fought fiercely in arbitration with claims and counterclaims until July 18 of this year.
Then, within two weeks everything changed radically. Through a letter dated July 31, the German company suddenly notified the court of its withdrawal from arbitration, since according to it the conflict with the Albanian government had been resolved by understanding.
By letter dated 31 July 2024 on behalf of both parties, the Claimant informed the Tribunal and the Secretariat as follows: Pursuant to Rule 55(2)(a) of the ICSID Arbitration Rules, Claimant EMS Shipping & Trading GmbH (“EMS ”) wishes to notify the Court that the Parties have agreed to a resolution of their dispute,” the Court documents state.
In the letter, EMS informed the court that the parties had agreed to terminate the procedure and that EMS will irrevocably withdraw from the claims against the Republic of Albania. The settlement also provided that each party bear its own legal costs.
Sale
The Germans' withdrawal from arbitration despite coming as a bolt from the open sky was no accident. On the same day that EMS notified the court of the amicable settlement of the dispute, it sold the concession in Durrës. The buyer was a Croatian company called Scapha Doo, which manages the port of Split in Germany under a concession.
According to the documents published in the National Business Center, the sale price of the concession was 13 million euros.
It is not known whether the Albanian government was the godfather of the agreement for the sale of the concession. Likewise, it remains a mystery whether this concession will be activated in the new commercial port that the government will build in Porto Romano and what promises the Albanian government has given to the company buying the concession. .
Currently, EMS operations in the existing port of Durrës are significantly limited due to the fact that part of the land has already been released to the joint company between the Albanian government and businessman Muhamed Alabbar, for the construction of tourist towers.
Last year, the revenue of the eastern terminal concession fell by 35 percent, while its losses increased by 6 times compared to the previous year, reaching almost 1 million euros./ kapitali.al