Club Med abandons holiday resort project in Kakome Beach

TIRANA, June 18–French tour operator and resort group, Club Med, has abandoned a holiday resort project on Albania’s Ionian coast citing problems over the ownership of the site, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
“There’s no project for a Club Med in Albania,” Reuters reported, quoting a letter from Florence Le Gall, Club Mediterranean director of regional development, written to villagers claiming ownership of the land at Kakome Beach in southern Albania. “The project is stopped for our part due to issues not yet resolved, and the ownership of the property is one of them.”
In early 2005 Club Med and the Albanian construction company Riviera were awarded a long-term lease on the development of the resort. The start of construction, however, was postponed by land ownership claims by the local people. A court ruling last year cleared the path to the project’s implementation and construction began earlier this year.
The project, which included the construction of some 400 villas near the Kakome Beach, was worth 38 million euro according to declarations made by Riviera’s CEO Dritan Celaj.
Le Gall also added that Club Med has discontinued its agreement with Riviera Company, despite construction progress.