Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama at the meeting of the National Territorial Council that approved the Local General Plan for Tirana:

 

This is a moment of special importance for the capital city, of course also for other cities, the new municipalities, which finally enter the path of European civilization in terms of the vision and planning of the future.

Today, thanks to the precious contribution of one of the most prominent European architects and his team, Stefano Boeri whom I thank for being here, and thanks to the voluminous work done by the Municipality of Tirana, the respective team, but thanks also to the coordination guaranteed by the National Planning Agency and the Technical Secretariat of this Council, we are in front of a great job, with very encouraging results that set the basis for Next Generation Tirana.

We all know how the story of plans and counter-plans has developed in Tirana. But I am confident that this plan to be approved today is irreversible, and it will finally create stability to the foundations of the Tirana we want.

Just to give a taste of what has actually prevented Tirana from walking in the right direction, the previous plan was made with the so-called “our forces”, without any serious expertise and above all, without any international tutorship which is necessary in such cases, even in large metropolitan areas, let alone here in Tirana. This plan envisaged a construction area within the yellow line for 1.6 million residents, and a construction area in the municipal territories, in the rural area of the new city hall for another 3 million residents. The plan envisaged a capital city with a population that is greater than the population of Albania, but it did not provide for any other services, except for services in the centre of Tirana, services in the same hospitals, in the same universities, in the same schools, in the same police stations, and so on. I think it is the most irrational document of real estate speculation that can be found in the European history. Thankfully, this document could not be implemented.

Today, a completely new model of well-thought interventions comes to life, in a plan that, unlike classical plans, is an adaptation of the intelligence of the territory which uses at best the potentials of the territory and understands the tradition, the development time and the mentality in this territory. It’s a plan, in the truest sense of the word, for the city and citizens.

Of course Tirana has major challenges, beginning with transportation challenges. The plan addresses this challenge with courage and vision, and it keeps on with the further development of the arteries that will enable in the capital city the mobility not only of the motor vehicles, but also alternative ones.

The plan addresses the challenge of green areas, which have increased thanks to the work done before the 4-year snoring and after the 4-year snoring. Today, the Municipality of Tirana is planting 1000 trees per month, and it will continue at this pace throughout the first term of the mayor. What is inspiring in this Plan is not only the further realization of new parks, such as the Park of Kashar, the Park of Vaqarr, the Park of Farka, but also a ring, an orbital forest as Stefano Boeri calls it, which makes Next Generation Tirana another European city very different from the one we have.

Another challenge is that of the most important service to families, day cares, kindergartens, schools. The Municipality of Tirana has reconstructed the existing day cares, it has launched the reconstruction of existing gardens, and it is in the process of implementation of the ambitious 20 new schools project that will end the two-shift teaching in the capital city within two years.

The plan gives a development perspective, beyond what already is becoming a reality with the phenomenal renewal of Brasini’s axis, the square “Skanderbeg”, which is the most precious jewel in the crown of Urban Renaissance where transformation is fantastic.

Being an eyewitness some days ago at the site, I can tell you that although I have been since the initial stage of the design of the square aware of what the square will bring, I was really left speechless when I saw what a urban space is being created, and it will soon be available not only to the citizens of Tirana, but also to all those who visit Tirana, as an extraordinary surprise from the capital of the Albanians.

The square “Skanderbeg” will provide Tirana with an additional of 45 thousand square meters of greenery, 900 decorative trees, 520 trees and 35 thousand flowers from all regions, as well as stones from all Albanian territories. The square will undoubtedly be a highlight in the region, and needless to say, it will be one of the most beautiful surprises of the creativity of contemporary European architecture and urban planning in recent years.

The plan conceived with vision and a lot of courage by Stefano Boeri and his team, does not only integrate at best the areas around the new national stadium, around the new Olympic Park in Tirana, the new National Theatre, the Theatre of Opera and Ballet, but it opens the perspective for the new university campus, the new central bus station, a new train station, and so on.

This is a long-term vision. What is most important is that the Plan is a document, which is a working instrument, starting from tomorrow, for all those who want to use it for the city hall, for entrepreneurs, for state agencies, for ministries, beginning with the Ministry of Transport and the other ministries the work of which is related to this strategic hub of the entire territory, such as Tirana.

What also has a special importance is that the plan makes a very well-thought overview of the history, by harmonizing the structures of the Roman period, of the fascist period, the Soviet period, the Chinese period and all subsequent structures, including the structures of constructions or informal settlements, thus turning Tirana in a metropolitan museum of variety.

Our ambition is to transform our 2030 capital city in the capital city with the largest pedestrian area among the capitals of Eastern Europe, with 2 million more trees, where infrastructure is placed not only in terms of economic development, but also in terms of social coexistence. A coexistence which Tirana needs very much, due to severe shortages in all these years of common areas and facilities where the individual is a citizen, and where citizens interact with each other as a family, as people of a community.

One of the most interesting proposals of the Plan is a proposal for five urban development poles that will be new city centres resembling the satellites around the main centre which is the square “Skanderbeg”. The same model is refracted in the rural area with 5 poles of rural development, like semi-urban centres that serve the entire region where they belong, in addition to bringing a surprising coexistence between the urban and rural area, the city and the countryside, where city life and countryside life take place next to each other.

By thanking a renowned architect who has become a dearest friend, not only of mine but also of Tirana’s, I express my highest regard for the work done in a relatively short time, but above all, for taking into consideration with respect and modesty, which is the modesty of the great, the whole experience of the past, all the contributions of architects and urban planners who gave life to this city and developed it, for better or for worse, until the day came for you to become part of this story. Also, for all the opinions received not only by the municipal team, or the National Planning Agency team, but also from all the others who are involved in this process. It was Stefano and his team who requested with great insistence to have as much contact with social groups, with different communities, not only in the centre but also in the suburbs, with different organizations, in order to shape a Plan, which is not a presentation that will remain on paper, as we are unfortunately accustomed to see often even from great architects, who with a kind of arrogance impose or seek to impose what is unfeasible.

This makes of the plan a very nice instrument, very concrete, very practical and very close to the people, who feel and will feel it as their own property, and not as an imposition by a great creator and his team.