By Ervin Lisaku
TIRANA, Sept. 21 – Violence against an American executive ten days ago has led to a Dubai-based company withdrawing from a major tourist resort investment worth $450 million that was supposed to create 1,200 jobs by 2018 at the Gjiri i Lalzit Bay, just outside Durres, some 35 km from Tirana.
The withdrawal which is a blow to efforts to attract foreign direct investment and know-how in one of Albania’s most promising sectors, was announced this week by Jamal Abu Issa, the director of Dubai-based Omnix Group, which was represented in Albania through its Omnix Albania subsidiary.
The tourist project involved the construction of a five-star hotel with 370 suites, facilities for sale and rent, an aqua park, shops, a boulevard, bars and restaurants.
“The barbaric Sept. 10 violence against Mr. Faadi Mitri and his family has deeply saddened us. This severe criminal act managed to ruin the Omnix Albania efforts during the past few years to build a tourist resort worth $450 million in the Gjiri i Lalzit,” the company said.
“This giant project targeted opening 1,200 jobs until 2018 and would give Albania the image of a number one destination in the Adriatic and the Balkans. Omnix Albania would directly contribute to Albania’s economic growth with this investment,” it added.
“Omnix Albania strongly condemns this grave criminal act that makes every Albanian indignant. Starting today Omnix Albania withdraws from every investment in the Republic of Albania,” the company said in a statement, thanking the government and friends who stood by the assaulted businessman these days.
Faadi Mitri, 55, a Lebanon-born American citizen, was traveling with his wife and children when a vehicle purposely crashed with his car near the airport, and three men brutally beat him in what police described as a premeditated attack.
The suspects exited the vehicle and attacked Mitri and his driver using a baseball bat, breaking one of Mitri’s legs.
Two days later police said they had identified the suspects, arrested one and were looking for the other two.
However, the 26-year-old person suspected of having been involved in the assault has been remanded in prison by a Tirana court but freed of the attack charges. He has been instead charged with illegal possession of drugs after police found 35 grams of cannabis at his house.
Mitri told police that the attack was premeditated and was related to the investment that his company was carrying out in the Gjiri i Lalzit area.
Police said the executive told authorities that he had been threatened to “leave Albania at once and interrupt all work at the resort.”
An appeal by Economy Minister Milva Ekonomi who offered police protection to the assaulted businessman did not help.
“I expressed the Albanian government’s support to continue the Omnix investment. I guaranteed his family and him 24/7 police protection,” Ekonomi said after visiting the businessman at a private hospital in Tirana.
The businessman left Albania with his family this week as he was carried off on a stretcher through a private plane from the Tirana International Airport.
A considerable part of the state-owned property where the investment was being carried out, some 45,000 m2, had been recently returned to a local resident under a Durres District Court decision.
The long standing issue of clear property rights has been one of the main barriers for foreign direct investment in Albania.
Back in 2009, France’s Club Med withdrew from a major holiday resort project in Albania’s southern Ionian coast after continuous land disputes with local inhabitants despite a court ruling in favour of the investor’s 99-year concession deal with the Albania government.
With tourism on top of the agenda as one of the emerging drivers of economic growth, Albania has been actively promoting its coastal, mountain and cultural heritage tourism in a bid to become a year-round destination.
Investment in tourism resorts has recently revived by offering investors state property in priority areas for a symbolic 1 Euro for up to 99 years in return for investment and job creation.
Travel income slightly rose to a historic high of €1.35 billion in 2015 when Albania was visited by 4.1 million foreign tourists, according to Bank of Albania and INSTAT data.
London-based World Travel & Tourism Council says the direct contribution of travel and tourism to the Albanian economy was 87.6 billion lek (€625 mln) or 6 percent of the GDP in 2015. The sector directly supported 51,000 jobs in 2015.
Business community concerned
The American Chamber of Commerce in Albania says Omnix’s withdrawal will have a negative impact on the country’s image.
Mark Crawford, the president of AmCham Albania, says it’s high time the Albanian government handled the long-standing property issue.
“This is something unpleasant, despite where the investor comes from, because it’s not only about the $450 million investment that is lost, but also the estrangement it creates for the sector and future potential investors,” Crawford said.
“The government should create a map for all foreign investors featuring land with no property issues so that so that foreign investors know beforehand,” he added.
The Tirana Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also expressed concern over the impact of the assault on the Albanian economy.
“The Chamber has condemned every negative phenomena that physically endangers foreign investors. It is quite normal this is bad news for Albania because there is a message conveyed,” Jaka has said.
Finance Minister Arben Ahmetaj described the departure of the U.S.-Lebanese investor as an isolated incident.
“The Foreign Investors Association treats this as an isolated incident. Despite the difficulty this country has gone through, there has been no foreign investor killed. The incident is isolated,” Ahmetaj said, adding that the declared Omnix investment was at €180 million compared to a reported $450 mln by the company.
FDI slows down
Albania’s foreign direct investment registered a considerable recovery in the second quarter of the year fuelled by investment in two major energy-related projects as capital expenditure in the key domestic oil and mining sector has almost been paralysed due to a slump in commodity prices.
Central bank data shows FDI recovered by an annual 24 percent in the second quarter of the year when it climbed to €261 million but the first half performance suffered an annual 12 percent decline to €418 million as FDI in the domestic oil production, one of the key drivers of Albania’s FDI in the past few years, dropped by four times.
Albania’s foreign direct investment stagnated in 2015 when it grew by a mere €12 million to €881 million, according to Bank of Albania data. At €881 mln, the annual FDI flow was up by only 1.4 percent compared to 2014 and down by 6.8 percent compared to the peak level of €945 mln in 2013.
The major Trans Adriatic Pipeline bringing Caspian gas to Europe and the Devoll hydropower plant by Norway’s Statkraft have been the main drivers of Albania’s FDI in the past year.
