Vetting show

By means of the Council of Ministers' Decision No. 185, dated 27.03.2024, the Council of Ministers decided to transfer the state property known as the former RTSH antennas in cadastral zone 3852 for administration to the Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Culture to develop the "Durana Tech Park" project. The initial decision included property No. 336 with an area of ​​140 thousand square meters.

About 1 year later, with Decision No. 13, dated 09.01.2025, the list of assets was expanded and several other territories were added to the same cadastral area, bringing the total area to 416 thousand square meters, about 41.6 hectares. Analyzing the documents of 2024, the area is mentioned as Xhafzotaj, Durrës Municipality, while in the decision of 2025 it is mentioned as Xhafzotaj, Shijak Municipality, creating inconsistencies in the administrative definition of the territory. The DCMs transfer the property for the purpose of developing the park, but do not constitute a construction permit in themselves nor a change in the destination of the land in territorial planning.

According to urban planner Artan Kaçani, the area has not been designated as a building plot.

"The fact that an agricultural area like the Sukthi area, in an experimental area of ​​power, with very high agricultural values, was not given to the farmers and citizens of Sukthi, it was kept in a state interest and has now been passed on to a group of people with close private interests to some extent with the state, appropriating these territories and changing their function, is the same scheme that has been happening for approximately 35 years for Sukthi," urban planner Artan Kacani told "Vetting".

Kacani further adds that this is a model of theft of national public assets and the disappearance of the perspective of villages, as well as the agricultural economy.

Vetting verifications show that the Albanian government has transferred agricultural land for a project, without first making decisions to change the status of the land.

The land advertised as a prime location, between the two well-known cities of Tirana and Durrës, was in fact not a plot of land, but an agricultural area. This is also shown in the Land Use Map in the General Local Plan of the Municipality of Durrës. Vetting contacted the Albanian Investment Corporation about how contracts were concluded when the land was for agricultural use while the VKM has passed without changing the land use.

"Vetting" contacted the State Cadastral Agency about the status of the land, as well as the Albanian Investment Corporation, but as of the publication of this material we have not received any response.

Based on official data, the editorial staff of "Vetting" was near the location in Xhafzotaj, but did not find any sign of the division of the land where the technological park is supposed to be built. The residents themselves also say that they have not seen any representatives of the institutions, who could have informed them that the entrance and exit borders of the park will be established.

The current law prohibits the construction of various industries or other infrastructures that are not related to the agricultural sector in agricultural areas. The only exception, according to Law 131/2014, is in cases of temporary constructions that are not permanently and permanently connected to the land, which are necessary for the exercise of agricultural and livestock activities. So, in short, if you want to build a greenhouse or a stable, or a warehouse for agricultural tools.

Furthermore, in other documents displayed in the 2025 VKM by the National Territorial Planning Agency, it is indicated that this is an agricultural area.

On the other hand, the decision states that technological spaces will be combined with agricultural ones, so that both forms of the economy continue to bring profits to the country.

For the residents of the area, the moment they can intervene in the construction of the park, they will be relocated by paying them in bonuses until the moment social housing is built.

The Shijak Municipality is expected to have 55 million lek benefits from the cleaning fee, as investors and developers in Durana are exempt from property tax as state property.

After some field research and contact with residents about where the park could be located, finally the plot number 336 was found in an area deeper than Katundi i Ri, Durrës. The supposed divisions for the entrances and exits of the park were in the middle of several fields, surrounded by several houses.

The current location of the park is not in Xhafzotaj, but on the opposite side of it, adjacent to Fllaka. The latter belongs to the municipality of Durrës.

In the request for information addressed to the Shijak Municipality, regarding information on whether they have been notified of the construction of the park, they responded that so far they have not received any request for a construction permit.

32 million lekë without having a building, OSSH bills a phantom network
Two years after the adoption of the law on technology parks, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, the Electricity Distribution Operator, the Albanian Investment Corporation, and the State Cadastre Agency were also added to the responsibility. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and OSHEE would assist in the general supporting infrastructure up to the park boundaries, such as roads, fiber optics, and electricity.

In early September 2025, the Tirana Distribution System Operator would announce the competition for the tender “Electricity Supply of the DURANA Technology Park”. In early October last year, the Tirana DSO Directorate, headed by DH, would announce the winner as “EURONDERTIMI 2000” owned by Qani Saraçi with a bid of 32.9 million lekë or 330 thousand euros. The competition would be marked with a red flag by “Openprocurement.al”, the AIS platform, since there would be no other participants, except for the winner.

The red flag is raised when there are suspicions of corruption and favoritism towards the winner by the institution organizing the tender.

Everything seems fine on the surface, but not everything is as it seems. To date, not a single brick has been laid in the Durana Tech Park project, while the tender for the supply of electricity is being organized in violation of several laws.

In the case when a tender for the distribution system is designed and the contract is concluded without having a clear purpose and without starting work, we have a violation of the Law on Public Procurement because the real need and purpose of the contract are missing. We have a violation of the transparency and efficiency of the use of public funds. This procedure can be considered fictitious because the only company in this case has competed for something that does not exist, which violates equality in tenders and creates illegal favoritism.