The Mabetex Group is planning to build a resort called “Divjaka Albania” with about 370 villas and 2350 apartments in the legally protected Karavasta National Park in Divjaka.
Monitor magazine writes that according to the project submitted to the Ministry of Environment, the resort has the capacity to accommodate 18,200 tourists per night.
If constructed, the project, highly contested by international environmental organizations will irreversibly damage 1,170 hectares of land of one of the few remaining nature reserves in Albania.
The Ministry of the Environment states that within the 1,170 hectares of space foreseen for construction work 370 hectares are beach surface, 210 hectares are pine forest, 160 hectares are wetlands, 370 hectares are land with sustainable use, and 60 hectares are agricultural land.
The different elements of the Karavasta Park have different protection statuses, with the 210 hectares of pine forests being the most protected.
It is has been weeks now that Exit and dozens of environmentalists and engaged citizens express a great concern regarding the building of the “Divjaka Albania” resort within the Karavasta National Park. The begin, the resort construction violates the law on protected zones.
In addition to legal violations, this construction project would destroy the natural values and biological diversity of the area. It would wipe out and significantly reduce the number of migrating or wintering birds in this ecosystem.
Permitting the construction of such a complex will also open the way for the destruction of other National Parks in the country, such as the Narta lagoon.
