{"id":147,"date":"2025-11-13T14:29:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/?p=147"},"modified":"2026-01-31T12:02:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T12:02:34","slug":"financial-times-durres-port-was-granted-without-competition-behind-alabbar-lies-the-uaes-plan-to-expand-its-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/?p=147","title":{"rendered":"Financial Times: Durres Yachts Marina Was Granted Without Competition \u2013 Behind Alabbar Lies the UAE\u2019s Plan to Expand Its Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The prestigious financial daily Financial Times<\/em> raises serious doubts that behind the Port of Durr\u00ebs project, Durr\u00ebs Yachts & Marina<\/em>, lies a broader plan by the United Arab Emirates to project their influence beyond their own borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an article dedicated to the projects of Mohamed Alabbar, Financial Times<\/em> emphasizes that the port was awarded without a tender and that it has been strongly criticized by the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMeanwhile, activists in Serbia have criticised the award of the major Belgrade waterfront project to Eagle Hills, claiming the process was not transparent. The port project in Albania\u2019s Durr\u00ebs, which also had no public tender and was initially linked to Emaar, has been criticised by opposition lawmakers. Other critics argue that Emaar and Eagle Hills act as tools of the UAE\u2019s soft power, spreading the country\u2019s influence abroad,\u201d the article states.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Financial Times<\/em> notes that Alabbar has responded to accusations of taking over the port without competition by claiming that Albania had not been able to find other investors for the project. However, at least under the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the Albanian government should have organised an international competitive procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cBut Alabbar insisted that independent auditors had drafted the Serbian and Albanian contracts, while arguing that Albania had not been able to find other investors willing to take on the port redevelopment. And he argued that singling out the UAE for using commercial influence abroad was unfair, citing Donald Trump\u2019s push for a US company to take control of the Panama Canal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Zoom.al has previously raised suspicions in several articles that behind the Port of Durr\u00ebs stands Sheikh Bin Salman Zayed, based on information from reliable diplomatic sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also suspicions that the construction of the Tourist Port will serve as a money-laundering vehicle for powerful international drug-trafficking groups, particularly those who, in order to escape Albanian justice, have settled in Dubai \u2014 the same place where Eagle Hills and Alabbar are headquartered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GazetaAlbania.com is publishing in full the Financial Times<\/em> article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The second act of Burj Khalifa\u2019s builder Mohamed Alabbar: Beyond Dubai<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The expansion abroad of real estate tycoon Mohamed Alabbar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While visiting the luxurious Egyptian beach resort that has taken more than a decade to build, the Gulf\u2019s most prolific billionaire developer often has to stop for curious guests asking for selfies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rising profile of Mohamed Alabbar outside his native United Arab Emirates signals a new phase for the 68-year-old, who stands behind both the world\u2019s largest shopping mall and its tallest skyscraper \u2014 Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credited with a key role in building modern Dubai, the founder of state-backed developer Emaar has embarked on a fresh wave of international expansion. Although his first attempts to go abroad in the early 2000s ran into difficulties, Alabbar\u2019s empire of influence now stretches from the vast Marassi development on Egypt\u2019s Mediterranean coast to Serbia and even Madagascar, mirroring the UAE\u2019s reach beyond its borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe are a small country,\u201d Alabbar told the Financial Times<\/em>. But by investing in countries often overlooked by Western investors, he added, \u201ccan we build a billion-person economy?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For his second act, the property magnate is leading another development company: Eagle Hills<\/strong>, a private investment fund backed by wealthy Abu Dhabi families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, he and Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund own a majority stake in the region\u2019s largest fast-food group, Americana<\/strong>, and in 2016 Alabbar launched the e-commerce company Noon<\/strong> to compete with Amazon in the Middle East. Alabbar chairs the UAE digital lender Zand Bank<\/strong>, and oversees Emaar \u2014 which is listed and also runs shopping malls and hotels \u2014 as its group managing director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although seen as a maverick, few members of the region\u2019s royal families enjoy Alabbar\u2019s level of access to power. A lieutenant of Dubai\u2019s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, he has also forged ties with the Abu Dhabi royal family and regularly accompanies the UAE president, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, on foreign visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giorgio Armani\u2019s deputy chief executive, Giuseppe Marsocci \u2014 with whom Alabbar has worked on branded residences and hotels \u2014 described him as \u201cculturally open-minded\u201d with \u201cvery detailed attention\u201d to projects. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t accept the first idea,\u201d Marsocci added. \u201cHe wants to go deeper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alabbar and Dubai have both been buoyed by a property market boom fuelled by a surge in population, as foreigners flock to the safe, low-tax UAE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But his beginnings were modest: the son of a dhow captain whose boat sank twice, and one of 13 children, Alabbar grew up in a two-room state-provided house that he shared with two cows. He despises the \u201cbillionaire\u201d label, calling it \u201cinappropriate\u201d for the UAE\u2019s reserved culture. \u201cI come from social housing,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s where I belong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating in 1981 from Seattle University on a UAE government scholarship, Alabbar worked at the central bank before becoming director of a Dubai investment company in Singapore, whose holdings in shopping centres exposed him to the retail market in the Asian financial hub. He returned to Dubai in the early 1990s to set up a new government department dedicated to economic development and oversaw several other state-owned companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As development accelerated after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum became Dubai\u2019s crown prince and de facto ruler in 1995, Alabbar began raising funds for a real estate company. With the venture blessed by Sheikh Mohammed in 1997, Emaar<\/strong> was granted prime land, which was later swapped for a stake in the company that the Dubai government still holds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emaar and Alabbar were shaken by Dubai\u2019s first spectacular property crash, triggered by the global financial crisis, as he lost millions in US real estate ventures and mining projects in Africa. And Alabbar has his critics: not everyone in the Dubai market approves of his fast-talking style and imposing approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His management style is that of a \u201cmegalomaniac\u201d, according to one executive who has worked with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the businessman has maintained a reputation for rapid project delivery, a highly valuable currency in an oil-rich region with big ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHis implementation record was much stronger than his competitors,\u201d said Jim Krane, author of Dubai: The Story of the World\u2019s Fastest City<\/em>, and he \u201cmaintained credibility after the crash\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Alabbar said: \u201cOver 20 years of experience, I made some mistakes. Maybe now I\u2019m a better manager.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has now set his sights beyond the UAE. Emaar has operations in countries such as Egypt and India, while Eagle Hills is working on multi-billion-dollar waterfront developments in Belgrade and Riga, as well as a coastal resort and marina on Albania\u2019s Adriatic shore. It also owns hotels in Croatia, Munich and Muscat, and in September announced a planned $5.5 billion<\/strong> investment in Georgia for two developments, including in the capital Tbilisi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developers\u2019 appetite for new projects is ferocious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI want to build my own Bali,\u201d Alabbar said enthusiastically about a resort he is planning in Madagascar. In Montenegro, he is planning \u201csomething really huge\u201d, while he said land had been allocated to Eagle Hills in North Macedonia\u2019s capital, Skopje, and that he was also exploring a hill town in the country for a summer resort.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But Alabbar\u2019s global expansion has also attracted criticism. The exclusive 7-kilometre shoreline at Marassi, mocked by some as a Dubai \u201ccopy-paste\u201d, is part of what some Egyptians call \u201cthe wicked coast\u201d because prices are out of reach for most of the public. Similar accusations of creating an elite enclave have followed the Serbian development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alabbar stressed that he wanted to undertake projects that were welcomed by local communities. While he acknowledged that developments such as Marassi and Belgrade Waterfront were designed for the wealthy, he argued that they created jobs, increased tax revenues and gave rich people somewhere to spend their money domestically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPeople live in luxury in Singapore, Beijing, Beverly Hills, Mayfair,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy can\u2019t we have, in Egypt, a Mayfair too? Give us a share of the rich people here.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, activists in Serbia have criticised the award of the major Belgrade waterfront project to Eagle Hills, claiming the process was not transparent. The port project in Albania\u2019s Durr\u00ebs, which also had no public tender and was initially linked to Emaar, has been criticised by opposition lawmakers. Other critics argue that Emaar and Eagle Hills act as instruments of the UAE\u2019s soft power, spreading the country\u2019s influence abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Alabbar insisted that independent auditors had drafted the Serbian and Albanian contracts, while arguing that Albania had not been able to find other investors willing to take on the redevelopment of the port. And he argued that singling out the UAE for using commercial influence abroad was unfair, citing Donald Trump\u2019s push for a US company to take control of the Panama Canal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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UAE businesses \u201care not instructed by the government to go and buy a port from the Chinese\u201d, Alabbar insisted. \u201cWe never behave like that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While he linked the willingness of Emaar and Eagle Hills to do business in often underinvested markets to the UAE\u2019s own experience of rapid growth, he said they exist to make a profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cForty years ago\u2026 we wanted someone to come and do development in our country,\u201d he said, and Emiratis now felt \u201cexcited\u201d that they could tell the people of Serbia \u201cwe will help you\u201d. \u201cBut please, we need to make some money.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Since unification in 1971, following the discovery of oil in the late 1950s, the UAE has risen from relative poverty at breakneck speed. The country \u201cis only 50 years old\u201d, Alabbar said. \u201cWe are young, we must work day and night to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long-time business associate Ramesh Prabhakar, vice-chair and managing partner of the Dubai-based luxury group Rivoli, said Alabbar was \u201cimpatient\u201d. But \u201cin an emerging market\u2026 there is no tomorrow. You have to do it today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given his reputation as a demanding boss, some candidates invited to job interviews at Emaar never showed up, Alabbar said. He described his management style as loyal and generous, but admitted he could be harsh. When executives made mistakes, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t give them two chances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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He \u201cwon\u2019t tolerate fools\u201d, Prabhakar said. \u201cThere is only one captain of the ship.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Alabbar\u2019s expansionism \u2014 creating an atmosphere of constant motion \u2014 clashes with a micromanaging obsession with cutting costs. Recently, he reduced the tea selection in Emaar\u2019s office from three types to one, and in a bid to improve productivity he banned group meetings in September \u2014 though staff could seek permission for meetings from the group CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen things are going well, I squeeze efficiency reports to the maximum\u2026 in case something happens, we are in shape,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cI am a paranoid guy.\u201d Alabbar attributed this impulse to his experience in Singapore and his work with executives from India\u2019s notoriously cost-conscious market.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Although Alabbar acknowledges he is profit-oriented, Prabhakar said the property magnate had in recent years developed \u201ca more human element\u201d and now viewed business from the perspective of \u201ca greater good\u201d. In his overseas ventures, Prabhakar said, Alabbar wanted to \u201cenergise communities and bring some islands of excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing atop one of Marassi\u2019s many luxury hotels, overlooking the turquoise Mediterranean and a villa where Egypt\u2019s president sometimes stays, Alabbar scanned the vast property for potential improvements. He said he had recently changed all the flowers across the resort, deciding the previous ones were not colourful enough. He had arrived by private jet from Angola, where a UAE delegation had signed business deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet despite his evident restlessness, Alabbar said he was enjoying a peak in his career:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI open my iPad and it\u2019s about Madagascar\u2026 it\u2019s about Noon, autonomous vehicles. And then it\u2019s about Montenegro. What a lucky man I am.\u201d https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/25c68ef2-196d-44ee-9cbb-e2e16eb43af9<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The prestigious financial daily Financial Times raises serious doubts that behind the Port of Durr\u00ebs project, Durr\u00ebs Yachts & Marina, lies a broader plan by the United Arab Emirates to project their influence beyond their own borders. In an article dedicated to the projects of Mohamed Alabbar, Financial Times emphasizes that the port was awarded without a tender and that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,22,1],"tags":[51,53,55,47,54,58,57],"class_list":["post-147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kryesore","category-politics","category-uncategorized","tag-albania","tag-burj-khalifa","tag-durres-yachts-marina","tag-edi-rama","tag-mohamed-alabbar","tag-panama-canal","tag-uae"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147\/revisions\/164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazetaalbania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}