The new residential neighbourhood in Ndroq, comprising 74 homes, a kindergarten, a school and a social centre,is increasingly taking shape. The local community of around 350 residents, who lost their old and dilapidated homes –  previously build in secluded remote areas-  will soon move into their new dwellings in the residential complex being built close to the national road with quick access to various public and private services. Prime Minister Edi Rama today inspected the site where the new neighbourhood is being built under the government’s post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction programme.

“This is a complex divided into two vacant lots. We have initially built the 23 first structures and all these new houses will be built for families that come from very remote villages. They would practically move into new houses, adjacent to the national road between Tiran and Durres, just 15-minute drive from Tirana and Durres. The complex will comprise a total of 74 single-family homes,” Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, adding: “Given that this is about a large community of around 350 residents, including their children, one of the vacant lots will host a new nine-year school building and a kindergarten. The expropriation procedures for the site have completed and this will really be a residential community. Some of the families that are about to move into the new neighbourhood used to live in villages more than 17 kilometres away from the national road. As many as 74 families will be living in this space. In the meantime, 82 new houses will be built for other quake-affected families, but this specific neighbourhood is being built for the families coming from remote villages.”

The State Minister for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj explained that the beneficiaries of the new houses under the reconstruction programme are owners of their property that they can pass down their family homes to their children; they can sell or rent them. “As many as 32.000 families have been registered and are eligible to benefiting under the reconstruction programme. A week ago, the government approved the decision to endorse a standard contract on the new houses, which means that municipal authorities will enter an agreement process will all quake-affected families eligible to benefiting housing under the reconstruction programme. I won’t to tell all the families benefiting housing under the programme will enjoy, pass down their house to their children, they can sell and do whatever they want. All the speculations suggesting that the government won’t allow the owners of new houses to sell or rent them are pure lies,” Minister Ahmetaj said.

This fact was also confirmed by Prime Minister Rama, who added that all the beneficiaries will be granted the required guarantees for their houses and apartments through respective documents within a reasonable legal deadline. “Most importantly, construction of the new single-family homes is progressing and the quake-affected families keep moving into their new homes. A small part of the quake-affected families, whose old damaged houses are located in remote and unfavourable geological and geographical locations, they will receive compensation grant and this is their choice. If they wish to rebuild their houses on the site of the old ones but under our supervision, let them do so. What we actually suggest is that they should refrain from building them there. We recommend them find other solutions in line with their opportunities, yet with the amount of the grant compensation they are entitled to receive they can actually build their new houses wherever they wish to do so. In the meantime, those still waiting for their new apartments, some of them will move into them gradually, but many of them would have still to wait, but they will be granted the rental bonus. Meanwhile, they should be handed over the due contracts on the apartments each of them will benefit, so that they won’t say the contract is a worthless piece of paper. For any overdue that may occur for 1001 reasons, the government, the municipality will pay a penalty and thus, he has a legal contract, allowing us to refer the case to court if they wish to do so. But the contracts will be primarily granted to offer them relief psychologically, as well as for them not to fall prey to the jokes that will go on increasing because of the choices, which are certainly nonsense. However, they can be rightly anxious and worried,” the Premier said.