Press statement by the Minister of State for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj:

I would like to announce to the public some of the decisions about the National Rebuilding Program adopted by the Council of Ministers at its today’s meeting.

Before elaborating on these decisions, I would also like to emphasize the fact that the rebuilding process actually started since November 26 with the housing of every individual and families whose homes either totally collapsed or turned out to be inhabitable following the quake-damage assessment process. The bonus rent will make sure that every affected family and individual is provided affordable housing until their new homes are built and rebuilt under the national reconstruction program. On January 2, Prime Minister called on the local government authorities in the hardest-hit cities by the Nov 26 earthquake to immediately launch the concrete legal process to determine the land sites where the new residential neighbourhoods will be built.

I am confident that based on the Prime Minister’s order and the relevant legislation, the entire land site for construction in the whole territory affected by the November earthquake will be determined within the next 15 to 20 days. So, all affected municipalities are obliged to forward to the Council of Minister within this deadline the complete documentation on the land site where private homes and residential neighbourhoods will be built as stipulated by the special law.

At its today’s meeting, the Council of Ministers passed the following decisions:

1-On determining rules, priority categories, the amount of expenditure to be compensated, responsible authorities and procedures for evaluating and selecting beneficiaries under the rebuilding program.

I would like to point out this is the first time in 30 years that a special law and special procedures are in place to cope with the emergency situation and meet the needs of the quake-affected families and individuals.

Tomorrow we plan to hold a meeting with all mayors of the affected cities, who, according to the law, will compile the official lists of all families that have lost either their apartments or private homes and the list of families whose homes, based on the criteria we have set in collaboration with the international partners, need to be repaired. These families will benefit grants under the national rebuilding program too.

Starting tomorrow, mayors of the affected municipalities, in accordance to this decision, should immediately act to develop an electronic application platform for the quake-affected families.

The application will be a very simple one. I would urge all citizens whose homes have been damaged to file their applications as soon as the application platform becomes available. The application process will be very simple, but it is the local government authorities and the Council of Ministers the ones who would develop policy programs and provide due funding to support projects to construct residential neighbourhoods and private homes.

2-On establishing rules and accelerated procedures for drawing up and endorsing the mandatory local plans, as well as the procedures for approving development and construction permits for new buildings, or public infrastructure, as well as new areas for development in the wake of natural disasters.

This is the key decision for the affected citizens as it sets a deadline for the municipalities of Tirana, Durres, Kurbin, and all affected municipalities, to develop within a 30-day deadline compulsory local plans, or the so-called master plans as soon as they pick the land areas, possibly state-owned lands. Without these plans in place we won’t be able to commence the rebuilding process.

In the meantime, every municipality has been granted the right to implement accelerated procedures for issuing various construction permits, ranging from the simplest building plans to most complex construction projects.

3-On determining rules and procedures for compensating the related housing cost for the affected families and individuals.

There is no need to explain, because you have already seen for yourself that the government has swiftly responded from day one to make sure that nobody remains homeless, by housing quake-affected families in hotels or by providing rental housing, which is working well and will continue to work until these families move into their new homes that will be rebuilt under the entire scope of the rebuilding program.

4-On determining the rules and procedures for benefiting the reconstruction grants.

This decision is an attempt to address the reconstruction needs for the three various levels included in the standards we have set together with the international partners; with whom we are also carrying out the damage assessment process to determine the moderately or seriously damaged homes for which direct grants for reconstruction will be allocated.

We are mulling opportunities for providing grants for those dwellings that will be evaluated by the inspection and professional evaluation of licensed engineers, referred to as in-depth assessment, which are habitable but need to undergo reconstruction.

The reconstruction grants will be allocated in two ways; one directly to families with a mini-construction project – I have to say – as legislation stipulates, or the second through the respective municipality that through its own teams can engage in building various structures of any dwelling unit that will be identified or has been identified as damaged and in need for reconstruction.

5-The Council of Ministers’ decision on the conditions, the criteria and the procedures for implementation of economic recovery actions.

The decision is about specific reforms and detailed policies due to be implemented in the worst-hit areas. A concrete example is the diversion of a loan agreement with one of our international financial partners. The funding earmarked for Albania’s southern area will now be allocated to support a major infrastructure project to help economy, agriculture and tourism in Durres to recover.

The decision is in harmony with the fiscal incentives we are providing or plan to provide to business entities in the quake-hit areas.

In the meantime, the whole rebuilding program ranging from private homes, apartment buildings and residential neighbourhoods that are planned to be built in various municipalities, will include expropriation and compensation, where necessary, and to this end we have therefore passed a specific decision “On the conditions and procedure for expropriation and exchange of property for the public interest in view of the reconstruction process.”

The other decision is “Determination of the conditions and criteria for the acquisition of new building land for residential buildings by new residential entities from entities that own buildings classified as illegal dwellings.”

It is an indispensable process and legal procedure, because it provides the opportunity for every owner of illicit building or home to benefit under the National Rebuilding Program, of course according to the conditions set by the Council of Ministers’ decision.

The last but not least is about establishing the State Rebuilding Committee.

This Committee has already convened twice in compliance with the Normative Act No. 9, i.e. the Special Law, but this decision defines the organization and functioning of the Committee. The Committee will be tasked with proposing policies or financing programs. These proposals are then forwarded to the Council of Ministers that reviews and makes a decision to allocate due funding to support various projects, whereas the relevant implementing institutions are tasked with implementing the procedures and completing successfully the project within a 12-month deadline. So, I am confident that 100 percent of the quake-affected families will benefit housing under the rebuilding program, either through reconstruction projects, grants, or through projects to build residential urban neighbourhoods, or private homes that would be built in compliance with a well-defined urban plan and economic development plan approved by the relevant institutions tasked with the development of the territory. So, this means that nobody will be able to build wherever he wants to, but in compliance with an urban plan that will serve both the economic development of the country and the urban logic of the future.

Thank you!