Vetting show

Public funds and changes in destination
Starting from March 2019, with decision no. 170, it was decided to distribute and detail the fund of almost 1.12 billion lek, or in other words, 9.12 million euros (at the exchange rate of that time), for the management of irrigation and drainage infrastructure. This amount of money was signed by Prime Minister Rama, leaving the responsibility of management to the Ministry of Agriculture, Finance and Economy of that time, in cooperation with various municipalities of Albania. However, the list of municipalities benefiting from this fund was changed nine months later and the amount increased to 1.8 billion lek, or 14.66 million euros.

For the municipality of Durrës for the years 2019-2020, three parts of this fund were allocated for the rehabilitation of the Arapaj 1 and Spitalla reservoir dams in the amount of approximately 50 million lek, as well as for the Zalli Sine protective embankment in the amount of 45 million lek. Among these funds, there were also part of the investments coming from the state budget and financing for the Durrës hydroelectric power station. According to experts, with decision no. 775, dated 30.09.2020, a fund was allocated by the Ministry of Reconstruction in the amount of almost 51.6 million lek to finance the drafting of the budget project and the reinforcement of the hydroelectric power station in Durrës, after the damage from the 2019 earthquake.

However, six months later, the previous decision took a different direction. Thus, from a project with reconstruction funds for the reinforcement of the hydrovor, it turned into a broader project that included the design of studies for the rehabilitation of the drainage network in the Porto Romano-Kënetë area and the systematization of the rainwater network in the urban area of ​​the city of Durrës.

Tenders and contested process
According to experts, the suspicion arises that this decision came and is related to the drafting of plans for the return of the Port of Durres to an area for the construction of a marina, hotel construction, as well as the relocation of the Port of Durres to Porto Romano, to continue to be considered a main port for the transport of goods.

"The way it was done and the high costs, question that the projects were done in a cursory and almost incorrect way and we take the legitimacy to say this, for the proof in the load that the city not only flooded for the first time, the city continues to flood systematically in the first flow that comes to the city. In fact, there has begun to be a flood above the level that it had before. So, if, you have discussed replacing the hydropower from one hydropower to another, at least we should not have had a flood of this level, but the opposite happens", explains architect Entela Koja. In this way, the need was created for intervention in the drainage network and water system in these areas.

Continuing two months later, in May 2021, the Municipality of Durrës procured a limited tender, with the idea of ​​a reconstruction process, where the main object was again the rehabilitation of the drainage network for the Porto-Romanos-Kënetë area and the rainwater system in the urban areas of Durrës. According to the bulletin of the Public Procurement Agency, this reconstruction program contained a contract value of 87 million lek and was won by the companies “INVICTUS”, “ANGERBA”, “TOWER” on June 17, 2021, while the contract signing took place on June 22, 2021.

Experts raise doubts about this tender, as they argue that the procedure may have been premeditated and the winner pre-selected, as according to them it is proven by the fact that contract no. 4929/15 was concluded on 22.06.2021, while emphasizing that the design task, according to normal practices in Albania, should have been defined and published at the stage of announcing the consultancy tender.

"The presentation of the project is not possible, because the project takes an elementary amount of time to be done, it shows that often there is either a great rush to make an investment and this has overlooked the correct expertise or the projects are done in advance, with defined funds, with defined consulting studios. When a studio is faced with the challenge of approval, that is, whether a project will be approved or not, it sees all the elements of the project well," continues architect Koja.

On the other hand, the Municipality of Durrës on July 12, 2021, i.e. 20 days after the conclusion of the contract, approved in the Municipal Council, upon the proposal of Emiriana Sako, the decision to assign responsibility to the Municipal Council for the relocation of the hydropower plant. Meanwhile, the handover of the work, i.e. the acceptance by the municipality, was made on July 14, 2021, just two days after the approval in the Municipal Council, according to experts.

The latter raise the question of how an engineering solution, the processing of technical documentation, a preventive measure such as moving the route of a work such as a culvert can consume only one calendar day. Their answer is still based on the suspicion that every step was premeditated.

Rising costs and projects in doubt
Three months later, the final tender for the construction of the new hydropower plant was announced, worth almost 23 million euros including VAT. However, this value was about 8 million euros more than the project and estimate approved by the Municipal Council a few months ago, worth almost 15 million euros. Another argument of experts that fuels the suspicion that everything was predetermined is the fact that in the report accompanying decision no. 87, of July 2021 of the Durrës Municipal Council, the footprint, i.e. the location of the hydropower plant and the way in which the project will be built, was determined by the economic operator “INVICTUS” sh.pk itself, which is also the winner of the tender with its bid of 82 million lek excluding VAT. In a standard procedure, these elements are determined by the public institution before the tender is announced by a group of technicians and specialists, which raises persistent questions about how this project was developed.

"These elements found in contradiction within the same procedure show that the project did not have the necessary time to verify the facts, but this comes at a high cost, not only the resettlement but also comes at a high cost, which it is not known how long the city will pay if an immediate solution is not given," says architect Entela Koja.

Another problem also comes from the fact that there have been changes on the administrative side of the municipality, as in the report accompanying the Municipal Council Decision number 87/2021, the technicians state that: "The selected discharge point is at the northern end of the New Port and is in an area of ​​the sea with relatively great depth that has greater self-cleaning of the seawater. We should also emphasize that in this solution the building is safer and the cost and construction time are relatively small."

Meanwhile, in the tender documents for the implementation of the works, the company "INVICTUS" sh.pk in its technical report states that: "The envisaged area is a closed area and there is no water circulation, this situation is compounded by the presence of wastewater that the hydropower plant will discharge into this area, further increasing the level of pollution of the aquatorium area."

This means that the area where the water is expected to be discharged is closed and has no natural circulation. As a result, the discharged water, mixed with polluted water, risks accumulating and increasing pollution in this area. This will also make it difficult for military ships to move, requiring constant maintenance to clean this area.

"This park is not functional because it was built between two cemeteries in the city of Durrës, but technically, this canal, which has been closed, has not been able to intercept the waters that come up from the hills, and its closure has made it possible for them to collide with the Spitalla area, swelling their drainage channels. Combining the malfunctioning of the new and old hydropower plants, as well as the flows that have come from other neighborhoods of the city, has caused a major flood," explains activist Shyqyri Myrtollari.

Procedural violations and legal questions
In addition to the infrastructure problems, the "Vetting" data also shows a number of uncertainties and doubts about the way in which the new hydropower project in Durres has been implemented from theory to reality. Referring to the data, an infrastructure permit was issued for the hydropower with decision number 2868, dated February 10, 2022, by the mayor of Durres herself. On the other hand, this project, initially tendered with public funds for reconstruction due to the earthquake, now has an infrastructure permit, thus raising questions about whether this permit is in accordance with the legal framework in force. Specifically, we are talking about the Council of Ministers number 887/ 2019, which provides for special procedures for construction in areas affected by disasters.

Also, another element that is noticeable in the way the hydropower project was processed is the time of granting the construction permit. According to "Vetting" data, the contract for the implementation of the project was signed on January 19, 2022, while the construction permit was granted on February 10, 2022 by the Directorate of Planning and Control of Territorial Development, Durrës Municipality. This chronological order raises doubts about the way the project was implemented, since according to what is determined by the Council of Ministers number 408/2015, the construction permit must be obtained before the start of the works. Meanwhile, from public documents, it is not clear when the works on the ground actually started.

In addition to this, one of the main conditions for granting the permit is documentation proving land ownership. In our specific case, according to experts, it turns out that the expropriation process was not carried out in a timely manner, as the decision on expropriation was approved in December 2022, while there are indications that the works on the hydropower plant started earlier.

"It is very important that this is followed by a group of experts because urban planning is a very complex science. It does not only include engineers, but also sociologists, environmentalists, etc., each of whom must give their opinion so that in the end development conclusions are reached, so that there are no costs like in the case of the Durrës hydroelectric dam," says architect Entela Koja.

Reflection of reality
“Vetting” was on the ground to see more about the state of the coastal city of Durrës, two months after the recent floods. What was observed was that even after the last few days of light rain, some parts of the city's sewers were blocked, allowing water to remain on the surface and collect as much dust, dirt and debris as possible. Reeds were even found in some canals. This plant, as we know, tends to grow more in places that have not been cleaned for a long time, such as abandoned water canals, wet or marshy lands, or where water flows slowly, stagnates and in areas without maintenance. In addition, the collected waters had formed a characteristic green color, with a strong odor, which indicated that an uncontrolled ecosystem had begun to form there.

However, after all the events that had occurred and repeated, the Durrës Prosecution Office finally undertook to investigate further regarding the flooding issue. On January 8, 2026, the prosecution issued a press release stating that it had registered a criminal proceeding for the three criminal offenses of “Abuse of office”, “Destruction of property by flooding” and “Destruction of property by negligence”.

According to reports, this instance also included the file for the construction of the hydropower plant, a project that cost 19 million euros, advertised as necessary after the consequences of the 2019 earthquake, but in the case of the floods, there were indications that it was not functional, thus causing repeated floods.

The consequences of the floods are not only related to the heavy rainfall, but also to the poor management of funds, hidden behind the title of necessary infrastructure investments. In addition, the procedures followed in tenders or their implementation in the hydropower project are also included, which daily highlight the series of legal and administrative problems.