Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama at the opening of the National Competition for the Entrance of Tirana Park:

Initially, I would like to thank the members of the jury, who are present here to help us assess some ideas proposed for a project of strategic importance for the development of the capital city, the project on the Entrance of Tirana Park. It is at the same time a particularly important project for the Albanian government, as in the space made available for competitors to propose their ideas, the government aims to create two areas of particular importance.

Firstly, an innovative center for public services that will provide public services through a thoroughly innovative system. As a consequence, bureaucracy walls will be demolished and citizens will not be wandering from one counter to another anymore.

Secondly, a modern new center for the State Police, a space available to the State Police to accommodate its leadership structures, but at the same time, a space available for the entire project and innovation program for the State Police.

Thirdly, to explore the extension potential of the University of Tirana as a pole with spaces that will be available to students, but also, in our view, would constitute an added value to young people of the city of Tirana, and through the cooperation between the University and the Municipality of Tirana, transform the square “Mother Teresa”, which has a large unexploited potential, into a pole livable around the clock.

This is a project of paramount importance for us, which paves the way for a new and transformative program for the whole of the integrated Park of Tirana and, as it has been the aim of the new Municipality of Tirana, the goal is to create a common space among the existing separate spaces of the Lake Park, Botanical Garden, the Zoo and the New Olympic Park that has started to be built on the west side of the space.

However, the project including a limited space within the large space where the program will be extended to the new Tirana Park is a key project, because it will create the conditions to open a big site for Tirana, enabling the beginning of work for the first phase, which is related to the entrance of the Park.

We are very encouraged by the fact that many internationally renowned ateliers have expressed their interest in this competition. A significant number of these ateliers are here today to face proposals in front of a prestigious jury, which will help us receive a conclusion supporting strongly our aspiration to transform this space which is nowadays an area with great potential, but completely dead in the center of the capital.

I thank the participants in the competition for being here. I especially thank the jury, and I wish success to everybody. I am convinced that at the end of the day, we will have available another valuable instrument to take forward the transformation project of our capital city.

Thank you!

 

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The National Competition for the Master-plan of the Entrance of Tirana Park was opened today. 9 teams of architects, landscape architects and urban planners have presented their ideas on the development of this space which, although is a great development potential for the capital city, hasn’t been used properly yet. Launched by the government, this competition aims at acquiring innovative concepts of architectural and urban interventions for the Entrance of the Park and for creating a space of modern public services. The development of this space is connected with the enlargement potential of the University of Tirana and with the revitalization of the square “Mother Teresa”, which has currently no function and whose use is very limited, and transform it into a vital pole of city life. The project of the Park Entrance is thought of paramount importance, because it is seen as the first phase of the transformation program of the whole of the Lake Park. This program aims at creating a harmonic connection between spaces that have been so far separated, the Lake Park, the Botanic Garden, the Zoo and the New Olympic Park, and transform this space into a big integrated space.