Over the past ten years, 41 municipalities in the country have auctioned or leased 6 350 hectares of public land, pastures and forests for use by private businesses.
These auctions have been conducted by passing off the transparent competitive procedures, without being carried out through the Electronic Procurement System of the Public Procurement Agency.
Approximately 750 public properties have been transferred for private use through the “Envelope Offer” method — a closed and non-transparent practice.
In 2024 alone, 2,355 hectares were allocated for private use — a figure two to three times higher compared to previous years.
The declared purposes for leasing these public assets include:
- Renewable energy production (photovoltaic and wind),
- Agroforestry,
- Livestock farming,
- Tourism, etc.
Businesses that secure the right to use these assets through municipal auctions gain the status of “non-owner possessor,” which gives them priority in cost-free privatization, based on the “Mountain Package” Law — a law contested by non-governmental organizations as clientelist and Tailor-Made Law. https://citizens.al/2025/02/11/paketa-e-maleve-drejt-kuvendit-ekspertet-listojne-parregullsite-e-projektligjit/
The full evidence and the article on state-owned assets under municipal ownership leased during 2015–2024 can be found on the Open Data Albania platform (data.al).
All procedures are published on the Open Procurement Albania platform, while businesses that benefit from such contracts have a “passport” with data on ownership and activity available on Open Corporates Albania.
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