The rock by which Edi Rama enabled Albanian politicians and oligarchs to cross the coast from Samir Manes to Behgjet Pacolli

The controversial controversial law in 2015 allows the government, through a committee headed by the prime minister, which can grant anyone strategic investor status, pardoning private and state land, on the only condition to invest over 5m euros and employ 80 citizens.

The law has been amended several times, but in no case has it brought foreign investors with potential. The approved projects are mainly for Albanian businessmen who have built villas and resorts, while in most cases there is still no investment.

The latest report by the US State Department states that systemic corruption has not allowed foreign investors to arrive. According to the report, the law adopted in 2015, with the objective of promoting domestic and foreign investments in strategic sectors, has not attracted significant foreign investments even though its December 2018 deadline has been extended several times. “The law will be in effect by December 2023. The majority of about 50 approved projects focus on the tourism sector and projects are dominated by local investors”, the report said.

The Strategic Investment Committee has on several occasions adopted projects under conflict or unknown and crime-related businessmen, such as the last case with Pelumb Gjonsa arrested for attempted murder. A project adopted in the French conditions of conflict interest was for family members of Foreign Minister Olta Xhacka, where her husband and her sister-in-law received the status of the strategic investor to build a Resort in the Giver.

Who are the 50 beneficiaries?

Media Blogged all the decisions of the Committee and on the benefit list found everything; Albanian businessmen, family ministers, mood actors, foreign representatives, even Kosovo Albanian billionaire Behxhet Pacolli.

The biggest beneficiary is Albanian businessman Samir Mane. His companies have received some strategic investor status. There are five decisions that are for the companies of Manes, such as Green Coast, Green Coast 1 and 2, as well as two projects in Lalzi Bay, New Bord and Vala Mare. All decisions say land ownership is private and public, as well as thousands of square meters of beach in use. But decisions do not establish how much public land has been given in such cases, since some projects are developing.

Behgjet Pacolli, former Kosovo president 1 month, and Mabetex billionaire has been declared a strategic investor in Albania. Pacolli's project, Divjaka Resort Albania, conceived on 47 hectares of land in public and protected areas, has not yet begun and can be considered impossible. This project is going through the start-up deadline as it was first pumped into a billion-dollar investment, but it seems to have remained on paper only.

The foreign minister's family members, husband Artan Gaci and US sister-in-law Tawni Lynn Grzych-Sutton, are still on the beneficiary list as strategic investors. The Council of Ministers gave in use for a 30-year period to a beach in Bridim brought charges of nepotism and conflict of interest. The Strategic Investments Committee, led by the son of former Prime Minister Nano, Sokol Nano, has approved the project and the idea of an investment of at least 5m euros in a 5-star resort on one of the beautiful Drem beaches. In no case is there a confirmation of where this money is going to be invested.

The Dulacu brothers, Artan Dulacu, Adrian Dulaku and Genc Dulacu, known in the field of construction and media, who control the national media Vizion Plus and the Tring platform, are beneficiaries of strategic investor status. They have two projects, one in the dreary of about 14 hectares of land and in Lalz Bay with 334 thousand feet of land tar. In all cases the beach is in full use, but it remains unclear how much property in construction is private and how public, pardoned by the state.

Renowned builders of Albstar company Ismailaj are beneficiaries of a construction resort at Saranda Monastery Beach. Later, they gave half of their ownership to former Minister Damian Gjiknuri, Andy Gjiknuri. The project was in a protected area in Butrint Park, but then with an unclear decision, the government removed over 80 hectares of protection from this park, where the possibility of the Resort Monastery being built opened.

Humorist Gazment Paja and Lulzim Mehmetaj have been declared strategic investors in 133 thousand square letters of land in Resort for construction. The project has not suggested realising finances.

Florenc Djukuria, the renowned businessman in the construction field, has gained two-thirds of the strategic investment in Data. In both cases, there is no specific indication of how much land will be used by the State. The other builder Pandeli Carapuli has also benefited from this status in Gjilek.

Most other drugs are just ideas and unclear. Among them is Greg Jillar and Swiss group Finsek Itd, who claim to invest billions in Kavaja in a 400-acre protected area.

Other investment projects in various fields are few and underdeveloped as an agricultural plantation in Divjaka, or a power plant in Korca with Austrian investors.

All Committee Decisions, Gainers of Strategic Investor Status: