Development proposal · October 2026
A practical way to grow Albania's marine industry. Written for landowners, investors, marina operators, marine businesses and public bodies.
01 · The proposition
1
A modern land-based operation for about 160 RIBs and small motorboats, using the existing slipway.
2
Local marine businesses supported by shared administration, marketing, technology and operational services.
3
Manages boats, customers, movements, maintenance and business activity.
Park-and-launch is an established operation internationally. The distinctive part is how the facility, the entrepreneurs and the technology work together. It complements existing marinas and boatyards rather than competing with them.
02 · Interactive 20-year model
Every cost category is editable. Revenue, operating surplus and free cash flow are shown separately.
Assumes the existing slipway is present. Its suitability and any improvements must be verified. Old on-site machinery is given no value.
Staffing · £97k
Other · £145k
Staff figures are illustrative budgets, not verified Albanian salary rates. Other costs are placeholders awaiting quotes.
Annual storage revenue
£1.40m
Year 3, park and launch only
Annual operating costs
£254k
Year 3, incl. staff
Operating surplus
£1.14m
Before financing and tax
Initial capital
£1.31m
£1.25m development + £60k working capital
Cumulative cash, year 20
£23.39m
Free cash flow, pre-financing
Illustrative payback
2.4 years
If assumptions hold
Bars: annual free cash flow. Line: cumulative cash position from day one.
| Scenario | Year 20 cumulative | Payback |
|---|---|---|
| low | £10.47m | 3.8 yrs |
| base | £23.39m | 2.4 yrs |
| high | £31.75m | 2.0 yrs |
Low: occupancy 20 points lower, prices 15% lower, staff and other costs 10% higher. High: occupancy 10 points higher, prices 10% higher, costs 5% lower.
Every figure is a preliminary allowance or placeholder, not a quotation or forecast. No land rental figure is proposed.
03 · Build on what's already here
Diagram only. Not to scale and not based on a survey.
Open the pin in Google MapsPin: 40.341473, 19.477215
The indicative area is northeast of Marina Orikum. About 8,000 m² and 160 boats are preliminary design assumptions. Land ownership, access rights and permissions have not been established.
04 · The boat-owner experience
Book a boat-ready time. The team prepares and launches it to an agreed pontoon. Enjoy your day. Leave it on return for recovery, washdown and storage.
Have your boat moved to a safe preparation area. Clean it, check it, work on it or just spend time with it, within site safety rules.
The facility should suit people who enjoy working on their own boats, not only people who want a concierge service.
05 · Bookings and capacity
A customer books their boat ready for 9:00. If the team has spare capacity at 8:00, the boat is launched early and secured at an authorised holding berth. The customer is told where and when it will be ready.
If a time is full, the system offers the nearest available alternatives.
Demonstration only · not a live booking system
Handling team and equipment
Holding berths in use (of 3)
Bookings
No bookings yet. Request one or fill a busy day.
Launches requested
0
Recoveries requested
0
Handling minutes required
0
Handling minutes available today
480
Operations possible today
32
Unscheduled bookings
0
Assumptions: 08:00 to 16:00, 15 minutes per launch, 15 minutes per recovery and washdown. Each operation needs a team and an equipment unit. These are illustrative, not measured Orikum performance.
Owners pay for secure storage, care and the ability to go boating when they choose. They do not go out every day.
A Swedish recreational boating survey reported an average of about 16 days of use during the May to September 2015 season. That is roughly 4.4% of the calendar year. It counts days used, not hours afloat. It is a historical Swedish benchmark, not evidence of Albanian behaviour. Read the survey (PDF).
So revenue comes from stored boats. Workload comes from actual bookings, one launch and one recovery at a time, which is what the schedule above models. The survey figure is background research, not a forecast of Orikum bookings or staffing.
06 · Vessel Memory
Each stored boat gets a digital record, linked to a physical QR code and, optionally, a passive NFC or RFID tag. Neither needs a battery.
Staff scan the boat and record its last confirmed position, ashore or afloat, holding berth, launches and recoveries, cleaning, maintenance, outstanding work and condition photos.
Passive tags do not give live GPS tracking. The record shows the last confirmed location, updated by staff.
The proposed service standard is a regular, ideally weekly, photo update showing the boat, the date, its location, condition, recent work, anything needing attention and its next booking.
Photos are a useful condition record, not a substitute for a marine survey. CCTV supports site security but does not replace individual boat records.
Illustration of a proposed service standard. Not a real customer record and not yet operating at Orikum.
07 · Cleaning and maintenance
Cleaning, detailing and maintenance could be run by independent local businesses within the hub. Customers could request:
The hub coordinates requests, bookings, communications, payments and records. The business does the work and keeps its own identity and goodwill. Completed work is logged against the boat's Vessel Memory, with photos where useful.
Included: basic washdown on recovery.
Bought separately: cleaning, detailing and maintenance from independent providers.
08 · Operating team
Full-time
£30,000
Full-time, yard and handling
£24,000
Full-time
£18,000
Part-time and seasonal
£25,000
About £97,000 a year in total. The platform handles bookings, scheduling, admin and customer messages so the permanent team can focus on boats. One person cannot safely do every launch and recovery alone, so seasonal crew support busy periods.
Illustrative employer-cost budgets, not verified Albanian salary rates. Editable in the financial model.
09 · The Missing Middle
Major marinas and tourism projects are the visible part of a marine economy. They depend on a wider layer of everyday businesses. Albania has some of these already. The hub is one practical way to help that layer grow.
Stored boats need engineers and cleaners. Training creates new owners. Clubs give access to people who will not buy. Brokers need boats on view. Each brings customers to the others, and to existing marinas.
No economic multipliers or national figures are claimed.
10 · Shared entrepreneur platform
About 20% of each business's earned revenue is under consideration, in return for the shared services. For brokerage that means commission, not the sale price of the boat.
Contribution income has to be weighed against the real cost of providing the services. It is not automatic investor profit.
Governance, ownership and final commercial terms. The cooperative, the site operator, the landowner and any investors would have different rights and returns.
11 · Technology and replication
Achievable now
Longer term
The aim is a repeatable operating approach. Repeatability has not yet been demonstrated. Software is cheap to prototype, but hosting, security and support cost money every year.
12 · Land and phasing
On commercially agreed terms. No rental figure is proposed here.
Modular buildings and removable equipment may help keep the landowner's future options open. Ground engineering, environmental requirements, access, restoration and permissions all need proper assessment.
Phase 1
Confirm land, access, slipway suitability, ground, demand, permissions and structure.
Phase 2
Prepare part of the site, install new handling equipment, secure it, start storage and launch.
Phase 3
Bring in independent businesses and shared services as demand develops.
Phase 4
Increase capacity, broaden services, assess replication.
The project does not assume ownership or control of the land.
13 · Perspectives
Cooperative cost-recovery income is not distributable investor income.
14 · Risks and open questions
15 · Participate
The aim is to find out whether this is commercially and practically viable. Useful contributions include: