TIRANA, April 11
The annual cost of maintenance and repairing Albanian fishing vessels is estimated Euro 7 million. The vessels sail to Greece and Italy for this services due to the lack of ship repairing and naval engineering docks. Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed for Scan TV that Albanian authorities are considering to open repairing shipyards in a period of six months. According to the same sources, four proposals for investments in this sector have been submitted to the Ministry. They also said that the ministry is currently completing the process on the registration of properties that will be used for these projects. Therefore, investors will have the opportunity to rent properties in maritime ports at a minimal rent price.
The new repairing docks are planned to be built in the existing sites in Vlora, Shengjin, and Saranda. At the moment, there is only one functional dock for the construction and repair of sea vessels in Pasha Liman. This dock cannot cope with the high number and size of fishing vessels.
The construction of the new shipyards is expected to have an economic impact on employment and maintenance costs. The Albanian fishing fleet consists of vessels with an average age of 39 years. This explains why they need more repairs and maintenance. In the meantime, the average of fishing vessels in the European Union is between 21 and 25 years.
News Source: Scan TV
Photo Credit: Orikum
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