Remarks by Prime Minister Edi Rama at presentation of Lezha regional development projects: 

 

Hello everyone!

I am pleased to go on with this part of our public accountability campaign today by putting forward a series of concrete projects we plan for Lezha’s further development, a region rich in abundant yet untapped development potential and make it available to the community, but also to the national economy.

In January, we gathered in a cabinet meeting here in Lezha, making a series of important decisions, among which I would like to recall the government’s decision aimed at supporting agro-tourism and designed to support and promote development of a agro-tourism network based on some of the excellent examples we encounter here in Lezha too. In the coming days, the government will also adopt a special support package, providing for significant fiscal incentives for agro-tourism development, which means that promoting investment in agro-tourism with the assurance that the contributions to our tax system will be much lower than what they are today.

Agro-tourism is a great potential for areas where agriculture, farming development and livestock breeding remains a formidable challenge, but they are home to otherworldly landscapes and awe-inspiring natural wonders, incredible traditions and hospitality, whereas the local residents’ tendency towards business activities is admirable. I am not talking about this area only, but also about Mirdita home to stunning landscapes and natural beauties, the remotest parts of Kurbin and all other areas across Albania where the fight against poverty seems almost an impossible mission.

Agro-tourism is a very effective instrument tried and experienced in many other countries as a way not only to lift the local people out of poverty, but also to start and run a healthy and lucrative business. What we are trying to do is that through this supporting package, which envisages the decision to cut VAT on four and five-star hotel accommodation to 6 percent, from a previous 20 percent, in order to allow the entrepreneurs’ fantasy and entrepreneurship evolve and start developing the initial business models, which, based also on the international experience, I am confident will then be followed by the households themselves.

It is merely enough to have a house in a beautiful landscape and raise an agrotourism -based micro-farm, transforming the village house, or constructing another building, not a genuine hotel, but a guesthouse in order to start a considerably lucrative business as the experience shows.

It was here we also made the decision on the 100 agribusiness villages project that will have their infrastructure upgraded in a bid to make them agribusiness oriented by promoting local agriculture products. Five villages in the region of Lezha have been selected as part of the integrated rural development project.

Likewise, some 31 various investment are underway in this territory, including three important projects, though one of them smaller but yet important to entire area of Shengjin beach and which is the three-km long linking road, the project of which was developed following the government meeting here and after careful consultations with the local business operators and the positive pressure by the area’s MPs, namely Lindita Nikolla and Pjerin Ndreu. Now it is merely a matter of decision-making and a due bid will be held for the project’s implementation soon, but a decision is yet to be made whether the construction works will kick off immediately or after the tourist season in order to avoid confusion and other problems that a construction site can cause during the high peak season.

Two other major projects in terms of their size as well as very significant projects in terms of their social and economic impact include the Milot-Balldren highway project and Shengjin-Velipoje strategic road.

A tunnel, part of the Milot-Balldren motorway, will ultimately put an end to an incredible story for a country, where main national road stretches along a blind curve towards a bridge.

The road linking two coastal towns of Shengjin and Velipoje is a priority road axis as it opens up a new space of a tremendous potential for tourism development, significantly shortens the distance between the two towns that today are linked through a road it can take more than an hour and a half to travel. Above all, it provides a fast and panoramic access to all the tourists across the border. At meetings with the Montenegrin authorities, we have repeatedly faced this request, given that many tourists visiting the border area are very interested in crossing the border for one or two days and there are also tourists from Montenegro who wish to come and spend their holidays on our side.

These projects are of a special importance.

I know quite well that people have high expectations from us and they are eagerly waiting for these expectations to materialize. Expectations are certainly an expression of trust and confidence in us since it is us and no one else they ask for these expectations to materialize, because those prior to us had the power to do these things for so many years, but they not only did nothing, but left many problems behind and impatience is understandable.

But one should not forget that we went through an extremely difficult stage with having to fill in the huge hole the previous government had created. Our government inherited huge debts and we were forced to settle them rather than fund concrete project. The amount of debt we have settled would have covered entire cost of the above-mentioned projects and fund even more development projects. However we have overcome this stage and it is now to launch major projects and open great construction sites.

I am pleased – although this is not directly related to Lezha, but it is a legend of the ling transition – to announce that works on construction of Arberi Road will kick off within May.

Arberi Road is one of the projects under the new $1 billion national reconstruction program on infrastructural rebirth investment and development projects and construction works will commence and continue until strategic road axis, which will make the region of Dibra an integrated part of the capital Tirana, is complete. The road will provide faster and high access and will release huge potential for development of agro-tourism along entire region linking Tirana d Diber, also home to pristine fabulous beauties, many unexplored just because of the lack of the road.

Meanwhile, construction of Milot-Balldren road, which is also part of the Programme, if everything and procedures go as planned, I believe will kick off by September.

The government will also fund construction of another strategic road axis Thumane-Kashar to connect entire road network of northern Albania and provide communication link between Lezha, Shkodra, Kukes and Kosovo.

The new roads will meet highest international standards. To all those who continue developing the terrible theory of the North-South division and who constantly trying by resorting to deceptive practices to create the perception that we are less interested in the country’s north, I am telling them that the largest part of “the $1 billion national reconstruction programme” includes major infrastructural projects in Albania’s north and northeast, because it includes three major projects exactly in these territories.

Another road project linking Vlora and Lllogara tunnel will be funded under “the $1 billion programme.”

Facts speak for themselves.

Certainly the area doesn’t need infrastructure only; it also needs important support for rural development. This year we have approved the largest ever national agricultural financing scheme to support the country’s agriculture. For the first time ever, no documents are needed for the applications under the grant scheme and the number of applications is higher than ever before. A significant number of beneficiaries in these areas will be announced soon, which will further stimulate the creation of a value chain in agriculture.

I haven’t forgotten the aspect of drinking water supply. Significant progress has been made in this respect. You know quite well that water supply has considerably improved here in Lezha following the completion of an important water-supply project. However, entire areas still need new investment projects to tackle the water supply problem, whereas construction of the water supply network for the towns of Rreshen and Mamurras is part of our planned projects.

I am also pleased we are witnessing a significant change in the fishing sector. The fishing industry needed support and we have already provided some important support, which has been translated into a significant increase in exports. But for the first time we have also introduced a direct financing scheme for export-bound fishery products under the new program of financial support for rural development, agriculture and fisheries.

Albania’s agricultural exports are steadily growing, but the potential for the growth of fish export sector is huge. We are pretty confident that by the end of the second term in office the fish export figures will match the agricultural exports data.

This will certainly translate into economic growth. This will certainly translate into higher employment. This will definitely translate into an opportunity for the households who make their living through work, or need to work to earn their living.

Let’s focus on the planned investments. You know better than anyone else since you are the almost daily users of Milot – Lezha – Shkodra road, which is an open wound for many years now. Adding two new lanes to the existing road is a must in order to address such a perennial stalemate, making the road completely safe and ultimately guaranteeing its mobility. Likewise, construction of overpasses along the Thumane – Milot road segment will solve a large part of this inherent heavy problem, which makes this road perhaps the most dangerous one in the entire road network of the Republic of Albania.

The government has also developed a very important plan on construction or reconstruction of more than 300 new healthcare centres.

Their construction is a must and we are now able to provide due funding after completing the initial phase of settling the mindboggling debt that hampered our investment pace for a long time.

But allow me to emphasize that figures speak the truth and say something very important.

You have often heard us saying we won’t build even a meter of road. Actually the previous government had put out to tender the contracts for building kilometres of roads all over the country, but the number of roads built and funded by our government over the past four years is much higher than the roads they built over the eight years of their term in office combined, except the Nation’s Highway, which poses a number of problems but yet it is an infrastructure work which to some extent had completed before we took over the government. There is not a single road axis put out to tender by the previous government that has completed at least halfway. Construction of all these roads was abandoned. The road segments along Lezha-Tirana highway are considered complete but yet construction works continue even today after being temporarily on hold, because we had to settle the debts. The same logic is behind any other infrastructure project all over Albania.

Worth of mentioning today is the fact that we are now able to give a fresh and strong impetus to public investment and the largest volume of infrastructure investments ever made in the history of Albanian governments is underway as a result of the combination of direct investment from the budget and the “$1 billion reconstruction” programme.

Meanwhile, this year alone we will provide funding for the construction of around 60 new school buildings and will keep supporting the municipal projects under the National Urban Renaissance Programme. The government is also supporting a series of important investments in flood defence infrastructure projects in this area.

Of course, there is a need for much more, this is not discussed, but I am convinced that with these investments we are talking about we will lead to a significant economic growth.

During the election campaign we have stated we intend to ensure the Albanian economy registers a five percent growth rate since the steady growth of the nation’s economic output will be felt in each family. Meanwhile, the 1%, 2% and 3%, growth rates are important figures in statistic terms, but they fail to be translated into better households’ economic well-being.

I also believe that with the necessary intervention for the complete renewal of Skanderbeg memorial we will fill in a gap that is unacceptable and at the same time we will give the city another important tourist attraction, which is expected to attract the largest number of tourists ever, not only in Shengjin, Lezha, but all over Albania. This is a major challenge because there is an ever increasing demand to visit Albania. Some 10 new direct flights have been established to meet the ever growing number of international tourists planning to visit Albania this year. This will help in creating new jobs and further consolidating the country’s growth.

Thank you very much!