The government sells for a little money on the coast of millions for hotels at the occupants

The Council of Ministers implements multiple prices lower than those market to sell to private state land on the coast or to the most expensive areas of Tirana, a practice that experts say is an indicator of the capture of the state by oligarchs.

On one of the most beautiful coasts of Joni in Palaa, the new villas of the resort village “Gren Coast”, owned by the group entry up to 300 euros per day for rent or for sale of up to 1m euros. Even the price of land in this area is expensive -- it ranges up to 350 euros per square metre, according to reports by imobilar agencies.

However, when the Albanian government decided to sell a land surface of nearly 9 thousand square metres of the company Gren Coast '%s' for a month ago, it applied a multiple-lower sale price, equal to 2135 le [18.2 euros] per square metre.

According to the Council of Ministers' decision on July 13th, the company Gren Coasté will pay the total budget 18.7m leks [160 thousand euros] for an area of 8774 m2, on which a luxury hotel is expected to be built.

This is not the only case when state land coveted on the coast or in the capital is sold to private investors for prices many times cheaper than those of the Imobiliaar market. According to economic experts, these transactions, while formally legal, constitute a government clientisation of oligarchs and damage to public interests.

“Rest, when the government with the VKM sells an investor out of terms of competition, is nothing more than a state capture indicator from the oligarchs and government clients and a dangerous, dangerous and unconstitutional symbiosis between them,” said Zef Preci, director of the Centre for Economic Research in Tirana.

Asked by BIRN for favouring businessmen at the expense of citizens, the government did not respond to a request for comment to publish this writing.

While the company Gren Coastão shpek stressed that the land was purchased in accordance with the laws in power and with the value set in earth price methodology a document adopted by norms and decisions of the Council of Ministers.

“The Earth you refer to will be used for the construction of a five-star hotel and has not been benefited by paying less than the land price methodology in the Republic of Albania,” said the company Gren Coastão in an answer via electronic mail.

“On our part is not required to take land for free or 1 euro per square metre, despite sublegal acts in carrying out Article 29, Law No. 93/2015 for tourism or/and sublegal acts of the Strategic Investment Law were allowed,” The company added, stressing that the land could get it and for free.

The “Balfin” group is one of the largest investment conglomerates in Albania and the region. It is run by Albanian businessman Samir Mane, who is described as the richest man in the country, or labeled as the influential policymaker.

The value used by the government for privatising public property is based on an old 2014 map of land reference prices, which does not reflect free market prices and creates financial damage to public income. The map was criticised for being away from real market prices as soon as it was approved by the government.

Imobilar market agents say prices are in progress of growth annually, and what the government uses for sale or compensation are completely groundless in market prices reality.

Arber Brahaj from the National Association of Economic Mediators, NAREA, said BIRN that in general all prices used as reference on the part of the state are not linked to the reality of free market.

“State relations should be accompanied by an assessment report on property sold,” said Brahey, adding that “in this way would have criminal responsibility for financial damages”.

The case of selling state land in Palase at a multiple price lower than the market is not the only one, but a practice Prime Minister Edi Rama's government has followed with other businessmen, giving them properties in Tirana's most coveted areas or on the coast.

In November 2021, the Council of Ministers sold the society “Building Construction”, 2137 square metres of land near the Republic's Former Guard in Tirana at 66.9 thousand square meters per square metre, in the function of a private construction the company was making in the area.

The subx0> The private property transfer project will be linked to realisation of the project, in which the transfer of state property to private property is required,” reportedly in the decision. “Building Construction” is a company founded in 2011 by Sokol Mecemey, which has donated 100 percent of its shares in 2015 to citizens Ilir Merija.

The price used and in this case is reference to the 2014 map for this cadastral area, which is one of the capital's most expensive for real estate.

The land privatisation contract is based on a Government Standard Act “Berisha” of 2008 For the privatisation and provision of commercial companies and state institutions of particular companies or facilities, the main tools and means of passing these companies into private property, and in a government decision “Rama” of 2019, “For setting criteria and conditions for passing state property into private property, in the function of local general plans”.

In April 2021, the government “Rama” privatised at a price of just over a thousand dollars per meter, 55 thousand square metres in Hamallaj, Durres, in the post of construction of the tourist village “Lalzi Marina” from associations “Sviluppo Mare 1” and “S& D INVEST”, owned by businessmen Redi Peza and Gentian Soula.

Companies “Building Construction”, “Sviluppo Mare 1” and “S& D INVEST” was contacted through email from BIRN, but did not comment until publishing this text.

In this coastal area, according to Brahaj, market prices range from 20 to 100 euros per square metre. On behalf of NAREA, it proposes that the government use the prices being marketed according to cadastral zones.

This model would result in the use of prices as up-to-date and as close to the government's free market and tax directorates,”

“In all, we view the use of reference prices as wrong, as the executive should not have the power to determine the prices with which to pay or pay off a property, as this creates an interest conflict,” he added.

For economist Zef Preci, the Council of Ministers' decisions on selling public property create room for abuse of power and corruption.

“The lack of transparency in implementing the law on strategic investments and misuse of state authority ] especially of college decision-making such as this government decision leaves way for allegations of misuse of state authority at the expense of public interests and corruption,” it concluded.