Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and Kayo, an Albanian company specializing in the development of strategic industrial infrastructures, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture (JV) dedicated to the construction and maintenance of naval vessels in Albania.
The agreement was signed as part of an intergovernmental summit between Italy and Albania, held in Rome and chaired by the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama . Pierroberto Folgiero , CEO and Managing Director of Fincantieri, and Ardi Veliu , CEO of K ayo, attended the signing ceremony.
The partners plan to create a JV that will act as the prime contractor for shipbuilding and maintenance contracts in the Albanian market. For projects intended for export, the JV will be able to build vessels up to 80 meters in length and 800 tons in displacement. In these cases, Fincantieri will serve as prime contractor, entrusting the JV with the construction of the ships.
According to the agreement, Kayo will make the Pashaliman shipyard in Vlora available and will invest in its infrastructure upgrade, whilst Fincantieri will support the modernization of the production process, provide operational expertise, training, and engineering know-how.
Meanwhile, Fincantieri will also provide material packages, thereby consolidating its role as the technological partner.
Folgiero said that the agreement marked a new and fundamental milestone in Italy–Albania cooperation. He stated that by combining their expertise and resources, they were launching a project that would strengthen the military naval supply chain, support economic and infrastructural development, and create new opportunities for international growth.
The intergovernmental summit between Italy and Albania was held in Rome on November 13, 2025, at Villa Doria Pamphilj. During the summit, the two governments signed 16 cooperation agreements covering defense, infrastructure, energy, migration, and industrial development.
To remind, in April this year, the companies inked an MoU aimed at establishing a strategic collaboration to promote the development of the shipbuilding and naval industry in the Balkan country. The goal was to create an innovative, sustainable, and high-value-added industrial ecosystem capable of supporting the country’s needs in naval defense.