The public property development program has now entered a new phase, focused on transformative projects aligned with the vision for a European Albania by 2030.
Prime Minister Edi Rama today held a meeting with representatives from the business and banking sectors, alongside diplomats accredited to Albania, to present this new phase of development. The goal is to enhance the conditions of public administration, particularly in terms of workspaces, and to foster partnerships with the private sector for the construction of new public infrastructure projects, including those in tourism, culture, and social sectors. These projects will be based on the best European practices and in collaboration with sister institutions across Europe through the Albanian Investment Corporation.
The public presentation was also attended by the Minister of Economy, Culture, and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhja, the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, and the Executive Director of the Albanian Investment Corporation, Elira Kokona.
Prime Minister Edi Rama: Greetings to everyone!
It is a pleasure to be here with you today, alongside representatives from the business sector, the banking sector, and the diplomatic corps accredited in Albania, to present a new phase of our program for the development of public properties. This phase aims to improve the working conditions of public administration spaces, as well as create partnerships that will allow the public sector to directly benefit financially from the development of these public properties.
Today, however, we are here to share with you a completely different approach, based on the best international practices, particularly the experiences of Italy and Spain, which have, for many years, established structures similar to the Albanian Investment Corporation. These structures serve the public sector and act as powerful bridges for complex collaborations and interactions with the private sector.
We are here to present some of the first projects resulting from international tenders. These projects involve joint developments with the private sector. Naturally, these will be decided through open competitions, with the goal of, on the one hand, providing the state with new spaces—spaces with European standards for public administration—and, on the other hand, giving businesses the opportunity to enter into partnerships with the state, just as they would in their everyday dealings with private property owners in the construction sector.
I won’t go into further detail with this introductory presentation, as with me today are the Minister of Economy, Innovation, and Culture, the Mayor of Tirana, and the Director of the Albanian Investment Corporation. I’m sure that together, they will provide a complete picture for all of you. Afterward, we are all available to answer any questions you may have, to clarify how this process will work and how it will proceed.
I am confident that this process will allow us to create a new profile for the public sector—an entrepreneurial profile—that will place us among the countries that have long-standing, well-established, and highly consolidated practices in this field. But, more importantly, as a result of this approach, the state will not lose its role in property development. It won’t forgo the opportunity to benefit from its participation in the public interest, but rather will remain an active player in collaboration with other market actors.
Another key point is that through this new instrument, we are giving all institutions the opportunity to use this tool to develop the properties they manage in line with their public objectives. At the same time, we are providing the business sector with the chance to resolve challenges that many face when developing private properties, especially when dealing with parcels of land or property owned by the state. In the past, the state either had to release the property without receiving anything in return—often at a symbolic price—or, more often, the procedure was unfeasible, causing private investments to stall for years or even halting development altogether. This new approach will provide a clear, viable way forward for both the public and private sectors.
Thank you once again for your presence. This is a process that, first and foremost, requires a thorough understanding from all parties involved of how it will operate. It also needs ongoing dialogue to further improve the mechanism, as this is just the beginning of this new practice. Transparency and full clarity are essential to ensure fair competition and, ultimately, that all parties involved are satisfied with the outcome.
Thank you very much!
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I believe that for now, the communication has been comprehensive, but there is one more point that should be emphasized: this is a fully dynamic process. This means that the Albanian Investment Corporation (AIC) will be open to any proposals that may come, whether from private property owners or entrepreneurs, to jointly develop properties where the state has a stake as the owner. In other words, everyone should feel free and welcome to approach the Albanian Investment Corporation with proposals that may not be included in our published list, whether in the capital or in any other part of the country, where there may be interest in entering into a partnership with the state. As the Minister mentioned, the state will increasingly seek to be a direct partner in investments, and less inclined to hand over properties for development under the conditions outlined in the current legislation of the Republic of Albania, which we consider outdated. Whether it’s the well-known “1 euro” deals that everyone remembers, or all the other arrangements made around this concept, they were tied to the fact that Albania was, for many years, not very attractive for foreign or private investments. Today, however, this is no longer the case.
Today, we are in a position where, for developments of this nature within the city, we have every reason to believe that not only local entrepreneurs, who form the foundation of this partnership and whom we want to be strategic allies of AIC, but also foreign entrepreneurs and funds, have expressed interest.
Another important point, especially for those of you who are investors and developers in construction, is that you are well aware of how challenging the process can be, particularly when it comes to project development, permits, and the associated bureaucracy. In this case, however, the project and development permit are already in place, meaning that all the time-consuming preparatory work, as well as the significant energy required to get to this point, will be covered by the state partner.
And finally, we have absolutely been very attentive to ensure that we position ourselves in relation to entrepreneurs in the same way as private property owners. This means: we will neither demand anything beyond the average market parameters, nor will we, as has been done in the past, simply release land to facilitate private development.
The state will be an equal partner with all the countless private owners on the territory, but much simpler because it is one entity, not 30, 40, 50, or 145. At the same time, the state will operate with very clear conditions and requirements. The calculations have been made, and they have been revised many times. In fact, the terms you saw have been carefully calculated to ensure that the private partner, at the end of the process, will have a significant profit margin, taking into account the profit that is considered normal today, even though it is still not entirely in line with other markets due to the high demand that Albania still has in this field.
The construction of the National Library, the government building you saw in the project—which will house over 20 institutions and employ around 13,000 workers—are projects that can only be executed in this way today. These projects will save us, as representatives of the public interest, significant expenses on rent—substantial amounts that we currently spend on leased spaces. They will also address the fragmentation of institutional work, as rented spaces are often of varied quality and not always optimal. Moreover, this approach eliminates the lack of seriousness that has characterized the past phase of the country’s development, particularly for a state whose administration is under increasing pressure.
On the other hand, these projects will allow us to develop prime areas, such as the “German Villas” neighborhood, a highly valuable central area that, from an urban perspective, is currently degraded compared to its surroundings and the needs of the area. Similarly, the land where the former ATSH offices were located and the area near the Faculty of Civil Engineering will be redeveloped. In these cases, we will reclaim public infrastructure, such as the new Cadaster, which is crucial for concentrating related institutions in a single location.
I won’t dwell too much on the stadium, as I believe there is no longer any doubt that this is the right approach. The National Arena is a clear example of how a partnership between the state and the private sector can lead to exceptional success for both sides. All the economic data we are tracking from the stadium’s operations are outstanding for such a significant investment, which inherently carried some risks. Moreover, there is no doubt that the sports facilities are of the highest European standards, and I am confident that the same will happen with the Selman Stërmasi area, as well as in terms of parking facilities.
We are seeing very meaningful results from the municipality’s initiatives on public parking through partnerships. Here, too, everyone should feel welcome to present any idea for collaborating with the state via AIC to develop public parking spaces.
In closing, AIC will greatly assist all institutions, as it will serve as a tool for them, with a highly qualified staff and international expertise from similar, highly successful institutions in countries like Italy and Spain. The real estate assets developed by these institutions, which are public property, are worth billions of euros. This model will significantly reduce the burden on many institutions to develop their own properties and will fully relieve them from complicated processes that require specialized expertise. These processes are not only difficult to execute, but, as we’ve seen, they can also be hard to evaluate properly. We’ve witnessed, and continue to see, absurdities in the way these processes are judged—absurdities that often cause more harm than good, failing to achieve the very goals they were meant to address. This has also been the case with public procurement, which is now being fully centralized and transferred from various ministries and institutions to a national operator. Soon, I hope by next year, it will also incorporate Artificial Intelligence as a tool to enhance transparency.
The same will apply to all of these partnerships, so I want to emphasize that everyone here—including all the entrepreneurs I see, those not present but in the same sector across the country, our banking sector partners, and institutions represented here by the embassies—should feel absolutely welcome, not only to participate in the initiatives we’ve outlined but also to bring forward any proposal they believe is worth pursuing in this partnership. This approach mirrors how investors or entrepreneurs approach private property owners: they knock on the door and say, “Look, together we can develop something here.” We are ready and open. AIC is the representative of the state as the property owner for development, and we are here to listen. If you have a proposal, come knock on the door and say, “Let’s partner up and create something together.”
Thank you very much, and since this is our first meeting here and the start of the year, I’d like to wish you all a successful year ahead.
It’s clear that the banks don’t need my well wishes, as they are thriving every year in Albania with the growing liquidity they keep accumulating. Meanwhile, everyone else wants to make more investments and requires more loans. However, there is a challenge, because the comfort of sitting on all that cash has, in a way, diminished the drive for new ventures. But I’m confident that others truly need this encouragement, so to everyone, I wish you success with both feet forward, and to the banks, just one foot forward toward continued success.
Thank you very much!
