The Vetting Show, News24
Over the last decade, concessions and public-private partnerships have become a form of instrument for the Albanian government to implement large-scale infrastructure and public service projects. Some of these forms of cooperation, where applications are in various fields, include road construction, port development, energy fields, where we can mention photovoltaic parks and hydroelectric power plants, the health sector and many others.
Some of these well-known projects of this nature in our country are the Vlora Integrated Port, otherwise called "Triport Vlora", the "Karavasta Solar" photovoltaic project, as well as the strategic investment with suspected "offshore" capital, "Durrës Marina & Yachts".
Although in theory, such investments aim to attract attention from the private sector for a supposedly better development of the country, on the other hand, the practical implementation of some of these contracts has fueled ongoing public and political debates, while in some cases suspicions of irregularities and corruption have been raised.
According to Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku, the list of strategic investments shows that there is no foreign investment and contradicts the main purpose of the law on strategic investments: the arrival of foreign investors.
"The law has been used entirely in 80% of cases to grant permits for tourist resorts and to take public or private property, to give it to the same group of people who have tenders and concessions," says MP Tabaku to "Vetting."
The findings of “Vetting” highlight the existence of a recurring pattern in the way these strategic initiatives can be structured and developed. According to the editorial team’s research, the process is characterized by the acquisition of a given project by a large company, foreign or Albanian, which claims to have years of experience to carry out the project, capital and many other criteria. Shortly after, these companies sell their quotas for symbolic amounts of up to 3000 euros to other structures.
The latter are companies that have either been established a few months before the announcement of the major investment or have been on the market for some time, but do not have the necessary experience or the amount of money needed to support the project they have undertaken to build. In some cases, certain quotas are also placed as collateral in banking institutions.
Lawyer Redi Ramaj argues that these are investors who come from businesses or fields that are not known or have no experience. "They simply come under other names, with the introduction of some businesses with dubious activities, and invest or come and behave as strategic investors," Ramaj adds.
According to economic expert Zef Preçi, similar stories have occurred in other spheres, where it is known as a common practice, especially in countries with weak, corrupt institutions placed under the influence of third parties, such as organized crime.
"Unfortunately, our country is like that," Preçi says. "These types of investments are not undertaken without the right political lobbying. That is, thanks to political lobbying, to the point of making noise at the international level."
Such practices, according to experts, raise doubts about the equality of competition, the transparency of procedures and the risk of involvement in corrupt affairs. The observations question the dynamics of these projects, which do not end with the announcement of winners, but continue in processes less visible to the public, often related to documentation and internal decision-making, thus placing Albanian taxpayers' money on profitable tables.
MP Jorida Tabaku argues that the change of ownership in law is a mandatory fact.
"It is the simple use of a name to justify taking over this project, to hide the real owners. Then, the moment the project is taken over, then this starts being transferred from one to another, firstly to hide the traces and secondly, to lead it to the real owners who have taken over this concession contract," Tabaku continues to explain.
