The “illegal” contract with Limak is being implemented by Kurti ministers

In 2019, in a long review bearing his signature, current Finance Minister Iron Murati, then independent analyst, had prescribed as illegal a contract worth 34m euros linked between the Government and the Turkish company Limak.

“The contract for the extension of the airport's Pista” was an investment of Kosovo taxpayers' money in a private business, since the International Airport in Pristina managed a decade by the Turkish company.

In his first three years of analysis, Murati even expresses serious doubts about the possibility of misuse of public money in this case:

“ ... The fact that a contract worth about 34m euros has been signed during the time the government has been in resignation, and it's all been done untransparently without a tender, it allows space to suspect that this contract could have elements of misuse of public money...”.

Today, when more than a year has passed under Vetevendosje's rule, it is not yet known whether any investigation has been requested.

The two ministries responsible for the contract are the Ministry of Infrastructure, both the signatories, and that of finance that also participated in its drafting.

“Minister Aliu, accompanied by the construction cook from the platform for the track extension project, Peter Bonello, and the management director of the Gokmen Aritay Airport, paid a visit to the airport track to look closely at all the work done so far and discussed in detail the finalisation of the track extension project, from 2500m to 3050m, and also to install important surveillance equipment in the establishment of technical skills for the delivery of the air utility<1>, an announcement of the December 11th Ministry of the December 2030th.

The secret contract not reported to ZKA

The implementation of this project in the past government, even in this present government, is moving ahead despite earlier warnings from the National Audition Office (ZKA) that the whole process was kept secret by signatory parties, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Limak Company.

The contract has never been presented to the National Auditing Office, but it requires the Public Procurement Law.

In a response to the Economic Bulletin, the Auditor's Office said that the Ministry of Infrastructure had not reported the contract in question to the CRPP at all. Although it is about a public investment, the whole process until the signing of this contract has been conducted in a completely non-transparent manner. Besides being kept secret at the time of the signing, the contract has not been published to this day by the Ministry of Infrastructure, which is its signatory side.

The Economic Bulletin has provided a copy of this contract, which details all the obligations the Government of Kosovo has made for meeting this 33.6m-euro investment with Kosovo taxpayers' money.

“The Ministry of Infrastructure and Limak Kosovo Airport J. S.C. have agreed to conclude a public contract for work as follows: “The flow of the runway, the establishment of the landing system and radiocommunication system at Pristina International Airport Adam Jashari”, said at the introduction of the contract.

The contract is aimed at extending the airport runway by 500 metres, as well as purchasing some other equipment needed to boost the landing and radiocommunication system.

Government undertook to carry out Limak's investment in Aeroport

Given the airport concession contract, Turkish company Limak was obliged to build the security zone on both sides of the airport runway, known as the RSA. But to this day, this investment has not been carried out by the concession. This investment belonging to Limak, the Government of Kosovo, took over on its own through the contract to extend the Pista.

The inclusion in this contract of an investment that the concession would have to make is listed in the “report. Examining the contract to extend the runway of Adem Jashar” by author Iron Mqira, then as an independent analyst.

The establishment of this security area with the concession contract belongs to the concessioner, but this has never been completed. Moreover, now the completion of The RESA is involved in the contract to extend the track, and what was to be carried out by the concessionary will now be done with public money”, the report says.

Moreover, no tender procedures had been conducted for this activity, but using direct negotiations without publishing the contract.

“The contract for handling the jobs has been given to the ANP concession company Limak Internation- al JSC, without conducting tender procedure, but using direct negotiations without publishing the contract. The reason for this action is that there are clauses in the concession contract that give exclusive permission to the concessionary, and as a result any work done within ANP spaces should be provided only to the concessionary”, the analysis suggests.

The Mura in his analysis estimates that the “evidence that a contract worth about 34m euros has been signed during the time the government has been in resignation, and all is done untransparently without tender, allows space to suspect that this contract may have elements of misuse of public money”.

According to this analysis, if viewed as a whole, it is noted that this whole process has been in the service of the concession's compensation with this contract.

In other words, the beneficiary of the contract has been known since the beginning, while the process has lasted until MI has found the most appropriate way that the work of this project is done to give the existing ANP concessioner”, it is said further in analysis.