Behgjet Pacolli’s Mabco has reportedly accused the Albanian government before an international arbitration court of attempting to take control of Vlora International Airport in order to hand the concession to Israeli businessman Ron Yeffet.
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| Edi Rama and Behgjet Pacolli amidst the Vlora Airport concession dispute |
According to information obtained by Kapitali, the allegation was confirmed by two confidential sources within the Albanian State Advocate’s Office and the Ministry of Infrastructure, who said they had reviewed the document.
It remains unclear what evidence Mabco presented to support its claim that the government is seeking to terminate the concession specifically to transfer it to Ron Yeffet.
According to the same sources, however, lawyers representing Pacolli’s company told the arbitration court that Yeffet is a businessman with close ties to the Albanian government.
The allegation has not been independently established, and there has been no publicly available evidence presented to substantiate the claimed relationship.
Patton Boggs represents Mabco
Mabco has hired the prominent US law firm Patton Boggs to represent it in the dispute with the Albanian government.
Lawyers from the firm reportedly traveled to Tirana several days ago for a joint meeting involving Mabco, Vlora International Airport (VIA), 2A Group and the Ministry of Infrastructure.
The meeting represented the first attempt by the parties to reach a settlement after the Albanian government initiated proceedings to terminate the concession agreement.
The dispute comes amid a broader conflict over the ownership and management of VIA. Official company records show that Mabco Constructions has been the principal shareholder of the concession company, while a series of court proceedings have affected the voting and decision-making rights associated with its stake.
No compensation claim has yet been filed
Despite the escalation of the dispute, neither Mabco, VIA nor 2A Group has so far launched an arbitration proceeding on the merits seeking financial compensation from Albania.
The London proceedings currently concern an interim measure aimed at preventing or suspending the government's attempt to terminate the concession agreement.
Recent reporting has described the London case as an effort by VIA to block the termination of the concession rather than an immediate claim for damages.
The distinction is significant. An interim application is designed to preserve a legal or contractual position while the underlying dispute is resolved. It does not, by itself, establish that Mabco will ultimately win its case or that the Albanian government has acted unlawfully.
The Vlora Airport concession was originally awarded in 2021 to a consortium involving Mabco Constructions, YDA Insaat and 2A Group. The concession contract covers the design, construction, operation, maintenance and eventual transfer of the airport.
The latest developments therefore place one of Albania’s most strategically important infrastructure projects at the center of an increasingly complex legal and political confrontation.
If the London proceedings expand into a substantive arbitration over the termination of the concession, the dispute could potentially develop into a much larger financial and legal battle between the Albanian state and the companies behind the Vlora airport project.