Prime Minister Edi Rama and the visiting Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte on Wednesday toured the construction site of the Pyramid of Tirana, an iconic building constructed 30 years ago that is now being transformed into the region’s largest technology centre in collaboration with the leading Dutch architecture firm MVRDV.

At the building’s entrance, which is undergoing a transformation project, Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj provided a brief history of the Pyramid building over the years, whose special architecture will now adapted by changing its function to house a centre of technology and culture. “It initially started as a mausoleum and it was later transformed into a museum. Edi returned the building to the city so that it can be transformed into the largest coding academy in the Balkans for young people. The institution is already underway with the TUMO centre, currently housed at the national stadium, with 1000 children already registered and 1000 more children on the waiting list.”

“It is most likely that we are currently the largest workstation of Dutch architects in Europe, outside the Netherlands, of course,” Veliaj said.

On his part, Prime Minister Rama noted that Tirana has been picked as the European Youth Capital for next year, and is preparing to host a series of events that will bring together young people from various countries. “Tirana will be the European youth capital next year and we are trying to cooperate with the Dutch Embassy to host a series of cultural events for Dutch youth here. We will make efforts to host the Dutch cultural week here, featuring an array of various events, music, concerts and everything else,” PM Rama said.