Club Med Project in Albania Dropped due to Land Ownership Issues
BalkanTravellers.com
“There’s no project for a Club Med in Albania,” Florence Le Gall, Club Mediterranee's director of regional development, wrote to villagers claiming ownership of the land at the Bay of Kakome, 220 kilometres south-west of the capital, Tirana and across from the Greek island of Corfu.
The complex, which was to be built by Albanian construction company Riviera at an estimated cost of 75 million euro and operated by Club Med, was meant to contain 350 luxury villas and a capacity of 700 beds.
After announcing that it is finally going forward with construction in January, following a five-year long controversy over the site’s ownership, Club Med said on Tuesday it is giving up on the project.
The dispute over the belonging of the land illustrates the property title claims which plague Albania in general and which, as BalkanTravellers.com reported in February, need to be resolved in order for the country to attract foreign investment and meet EU criteria for eventual membership.
Read more about Albania on BalkanTravellers.com
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A Perfect Shot
In Homo Urbanus Europeanus, exhibited May 9-24 in front of the National Theatre in Sofia, Jean-Marc Caracci presents his photographs of people in the urban environment of European capitals.
RED&WHITE SOFIA. On the 1st of March Bulgarians say goodbye to the winter. They buy each other red&white threads to carry around until they see a stork and spring can begin. Photography by Lode Desmet
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The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22
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excellent smugs