One of the newest and most modern urban, social and economic centres, the May 5 residential complex in Tirana, Albanian capital, opened its doors to an initial group of 100 quake-affected families that moved into their newly-built homes on the last day of 2021.
Designed by leading architect Stefano Boeri, this amazing project on a new residential neighborhood just 400 meters away from the New Boulevard, is a promise kept to revive this part of Tirana that was hit hard by the devastating earthquake two years ago.
Prime Minister Edi Rama joined the first families that moved into their new homes, whereas 1000 more quake-affected families will be handed their new homes in the coming months. Once construction of the new residential neighbourhood completes, it will include a total of 3500 apartments for 11,000 residents, parking lots, service facilities for every apartment building, as well as five public administrative buildings, three educational facilities, a vocational school building, religious sites, and the tuition-free computer programming school, the renowned French college Ecole 42.
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Good afternoon everyone!
This is a very special end of the year for me and everyone of us, as it doesn’t happen each year, but once in many years, for you to be granted the honour, the pleasure and the immense privilege to make so many people, so many families, children, and grandparents happy, who have overcome and have been through a dramatic moment of losing their homes and a majority of them can’t afford purchasing a new home like the one they would have wished to build for their children.
It is really a pleasure, honour and a privilege to see the affected families returning to their newly-built homes after having lost everything in the devastating November earthquake, providing them new apartments that meet high quality standards in terms of the living spaces and which cost really a lot as their value keeps increasing with the city being constantly transformed.
It is a pleasure and a privilege for us to start with housing of an initial group of 100 families, the majority of which would never afford buying such quality apartments, while 1000 more families, a total of 1100 quake-affected households and not only, but also the local families due to be affected by the project on construction of new residential complex, which, together with the new Kombinat residential neighbourhoods, are designed to be the most modern complexes in Tirana in the next few years, where a large number of families will be housed under this programme and, as I said, including families that lived in miserable conditions here, lacking infrastructure, lacking dwelling legalization permits, some of them having a property, and many without any property at all and the programme will provide a new path for everyone, a fresh opportunity, offering them much more than a private developer would offer them and providing decent housing for their families.
All this totally for free! These families will not pay even a single cent!
Of all the reconstruction programs on our continent we have looked into, but also in other countries, to learn how financial models were built there, how urban models were designed, how they built agreements, we haven’t found any program designed to provide housing to the affected families for free, granting them the property ownership certificate, just as if they were owners or buyers. All programs come with bank loans. Of course, soft loans, yet they are bank loans and we could not charge these families a penny to pay to the banks every month for 10.15 or 25 years.
So, I am proud of this, because this is actually the right response through deeds to all the nonsense claims and absurd allegations, which, for the sake of truth, have no impact of whatsoever on my conviction and which fail to weaken my energies or make my job difficult, yet they have distressed so many people, disturbed many families and have triggered disputes and animosity among so many neighbours, while inciting fear among the community from Kombinat area, where God knows what false statements are made to the May 5 residential complexes in Tirana, Kavaje, Vorë, Durres, Laç, Kurbin, Lezhe and Mirdite. Local residents in these areas were told that “their homes will never be built back again,” or that “your lands would be taken away for them to build their own mansions and villas, apartment buildings for them to sell” and that “your homes are being demolished to grant the land to the oligarchs,” or all sorts of miserable slanders for the sake of politics and pointless power struggle that for so long has made this process difficult for the people.
Even today, as we speak, one can meet individuals and local residents in Kombinat area, who think that the oligarchs will grab their lands and homes at the dead of the night, whereas lali Eri (Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj) will then act to build villas and travel there by MyBach or Lamborghini.
But I would tell Kombinat residents that these issues have already been solved. We had to address so many issues in this residential complex too. We had to resolve a number of issues to consolidate properties, reach accord and sign deals with all of those who rightly demanded for their rights to be respected, being them either property or land owners, owners of a legalized dwelling, or homes that had yet to be legalized, as well as arrange and settle whole volume of paperwork so that all these homes due to be built and provided to local residents for free, together with the property ownership certificates cannot be legally contested or opposed by anyone in the future.
On the other hand, these are the largest residential complexes being built under the reconstruction programme.
In addition to the 1100 quake-affected families, the project is designed to provide housing for many more families and a total of 11,000 residents in this residential complex. Building upon this project and the experience we have amassed during the reconstruction programme, in addition to housing the quake-affected families, we will soon launch a National Social Housing Programme for the needy households and young couples, as well as commercial development projects so that we ultimately put an end to the ghettos for the poor and instead we build new modern neighbourhoods, bringing together all social categories, with children coming both from poor and wealthy families grow together, instead of being raised up as two divided social categories, and where all the public services are delivered in best possible way.
This complex will feature not only houses and apartment buildings, but also kindergartens, schools, health care centres, parks, sports grounds and endless green spaces.
The complex will also include service units, restaurants, clubs, and nightlife entertainment facilities.
You will see that “the Bregu i Lumit” area will be totally transformed.
Moreover, buildings of public institutions will be constructed here too, including the State Theatres Agency, renowned French technology and computer programming school ECOLE 42 etc. Furthermore, we talked and discussed that many of these service units, that a part will be given to those who have received as a result of the agreement as owners here or who have rented service units, etc., the rest will be put at the service of children for destinations, which we are preparing within the program of arts and crafts in school, drawing clubs, music, theater, and so on.
So, residents of the May 5 and Kombinat residential complexes will be really fortunate to live there by the end of this decade.
Of course, it will certainly take patience and hard work, but I already feel really relieved as deeds now speak for themselves and we no longer need to talk about them, especially at this end of year moment and when the new year ahead of us will come will all sorts of challenges and fresh opportunities.
I will conclude my speech by urging you all to show utmost care and be watchful for your door locks, as a door locks issue has popped up most recently in our city.
Happy New Year to everyone!
May you enjoy your new homes! All of those watching us now and wondering when they will move into their new homes too, I will tell them that we will be here to hand over new homes and apartments to the affected families each month and I am fully confident that all the quake-affected families will be finally housed by end of this year.
Thank you!
