Eight months after the government’s sensational action against buildings in violation of building permits, construction companies have returned to the confiscated sites, while institutions turn a blind eye to repeated violations of the law.

In September 2022, Prime Minister Edi Rama and his cabinet ministers launched a sensational action against high-rise buildings that had violated construction permits in Tirana, warning of their confiscation and use for social purposes.

In support of this action, the government approved decision no. 589/2022 that paved the way for confiscation, but at the same time gave the builders the possibility of legalization through pre-purchase at the market price of floors without a permit.

In his public appearances, Mr. Rama blamed the judiciary, but also the opposition and the media for being silent about the unauthorized constructions in the middle of Tirana.

„No one, neither the opposition, nor the media, saw them, did not tell them, did not listen to them, did not ask for the floors and meters built without permission for the purpose of profit in the middle of Tirana. Because all of them either have their finger stuck, who more and who less, who directly and who indirectly in the honey of concrete bricks, or their eyes are so blinded and their ears are so clogged with hatred“, he said.

Even the government ministers denounced the illegal constructions as mysterious crimes.

„This is the most flagrant example, it is symbolic of the violation of the law… we have 9 floors of construction without any documents, how this happened, to tell the truth, is a mystery to us“, said Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku.

According to the Ministry of Finance, 25 objects were confiscated as part of this action, most of them in Tirana. But eight months later, the builders have returned to the confiscated sites and resumed construction, again without permission.

In the months of July and August, BIRN filmed construction workers and machinery at work in confiscated buildings in the dry lake area, near the Zoo and on Myslym Shyri street in Tirana. The works are being carried out respectively by the Xheluks company owned by Julian Morin, the Salillari company as well as Arb and Trans 2010 founded by the socialist official, Arben Maloku.

E pyetur nga BIRN për statusin e këtyre objekteve, Ministria e Financave, e cila është de facto pronare pas konfiskimit, tha se ishte në një proces negocimi me kompanitë ndërtuese për parablerjen e shtesave, por shtoi se asnjëra prej tyre nuk ishte pajisur me leje të azhornuara ndërtimi.