For a third consecutive day, workers and subcontractors linked to Behgjet Pacolli’s company “Mabco” continued protests outside the construction site of Vlora International Airport after the concession company, now managed by Valon Ademi, terminated Mabco’s contract for terminal construction works.

On the third day of demonstrations, subcontractors remained gathered outside the airport site, demanding to return to work and accusing the concessionaire of unfairly blocking the completion of the project.

Selim Pacolli, representative of Mabco, said the company has filed a lawsuit with the Vlora court while also seeking intervention from Albania’s Ministry of Infrastructure.

“The terminal, the fire station, the police facilities, and the control tower are completed. Today we were supposed to carry out the technical handover, but we are being prevented from doing so together with our subcontractors,” Pacolli stated.

He added that Mabco has invested around €90 million in the project so far and warned that the company is prepared to pursue international arbitration to protect its investments.

“We will take this case to arbitration, and the Albanian state will pay the price because we have invested €90 million so far. Unfortunately, it is the people who will pay, not the individual responsible for these scandals,” Pacolli said. He further claimed that more than €310 million has been invested or committed through guarantees, alleging that Valon Ademi alone had received over €35 million from Mabco’s guarantees as project manager.

In a public statement, Pacolli openly accused the Albanian state of supporting the other shareholder in the dispute.

“They can take the airport. I do not want to fight the state. The state has its own power and can use it however it wants. But the way this power is being used is illegal and unacceptable for a country that claims to be governed by the rule of law,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vlora International Airport rejected the accusations, stating that Mabco was removed from the airport project because it failed to complete the terminal works on time, allegedly causing financial damages exceeding €4.6 million.