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THE ELBASAN INCINERATOR, AN OIL BOILER THAT DOESN'T WORK

2025-01-01 14:20:00, Aktualitet CNA

THE ELBASAN INCINERATOR, AN OIL BOILER THAT DOESN'T WORK

An investment of 24 million euros has been given by the Albanian government for the construction of the incinerator in Elbasan.

The Albanian government in December 2014, with lightning speed, signed the decision for the construction of the Elbasan incinerator, where 14 institutions responded within a day.

A long investigation by SPAK, with Mirel Mërtir who in Elbasan, exposed his roommate, Stela Gugallja.

The latter, without a single lek in her pocket, founds a company and with 100 lek gets a 24 million euro concession contract, then with lek borrowed from banks, the investment begins at the moment the Albanian government pays the installments of what it would call a PPP contract. but which in fact was not such, but was a public investment spread over years.

CNA has addressed a letter to Eco-Elb Sh.A, which is the company that manages the Elbasan incinerator, after renting it for two years in a row because the incinerator is seized due to investigations by SPAK- u, when Mirel Mërtiri, Stela Gugallja, Alqi Blako, the former Minister of Environment Lefter Koka and many other officials are under accusation, the investigations in Elbasan revealed and companies that sell sugar, but expect concrete bills, tax evasion, corruption and others.

In the response returned to CNA on March 4, 2024, the deadlines for renting the incinerator, the treatment of incineration waste in Elbasan are highlighted.

In point 1, it is stated that the Elbasan incinerator worked only 24 days in 2022, where it produced 75.9 MWH of electricity.

"On 28.03.2022, when the company "Eco-Elb" sh.a took over the urban waste processing plant, the plant was turned off. The technical staff turned on the plant for a period of about 24 days, where the combustion process was tested waste and the parameters of this process were monitored.

In 2023, the waste processing plant was turned on in April and continued its operation until December 2023.

During this time, defects appeared which led to the forced shutdown of the plant, but with the repair of the defects, operation continued again. Currently, since 21.12.2023, the plant is under repair", it was said in the response to CNA on March 4, 2024.

So in one year, during 2022, where the issue of incinerators is strongly discussed, it has only operated for 24 days and according to the office data, it burns up to 90 tons of waste per day and has burned about 2100 tons of waste for the district of Elbasan, which in fact it is nothing like what we claim to have had in Elbasan, in the summer of 2023, where we saw how the mountain of waste burned in the incinerator of Elbasan.

According to the official data of point 1 and the answer in the document, it is said that, in 2023, the plant was switched on in the month of April, so throughout 2022 it worked only 24 days and it was restarted in April, but it is emphasized that it was in operation until December 2023.

But during this time there have been defects which have often led to the forced shutdown of the plant and it has returned to operation. 

A new incinerator paid for 24 million euros that was supposed to be completed in 2021, handed over to the state on a turnkey basis, has been showing defects since the first year in operation and has not done a full year of work, but has a few days of work or a few months of work. 

"The amount of energy provided, 75.9 MWh, is only for the year 2022 while the turbine was in operation," says the official response.

So simply put, the Elbasan incinerator works simply and only as a diesel boiler.

According to the data, the main problems are the defects in the turbine that we mentioned above and the non-production of energy and the boiler as well as some electrical equipment, where it is rumored that there is a defective electrical plant, which makes it impossible to connect the turbine to the boiler, the production of energy and other technical details. But the company Sh.A says that the cost of 25 thousand old lek or 2500 lek or 25 euro/ton does not cover the costs for the incinerator.

The waste treatment plant in Elbasan goes from overhaul to overhaul in the absence of transparency, while the amount of accumulated waste has exceeded the capacities of the landfill, risking a new environmental crisis.

THE APPEAL DECISION FOR THE ELBASAN INCINERATOR

The Special Court of Appeal announced the final decision on the Elbasan Incinerator case on November 8, 2024.

The appeal of GJKKO has sentenced the former Minister of Environment, Lefter Koka, to 10 years in prison with a trial, who will serve 6 years and 8 months in prison with a shortened trial.

We recall that the First Degree of the GJKKO had sentenced Koka to 8 years and 6 months in prison, of which he would serve 5 years and 8 months benefiting from a shortened trial.

Meanwhile, Alqi Blako was found guilty and sentenced to 4 years in prison for 'abuse of duty', of which he will serve 2 years and 8 months with a shortened trial.

Meanwhile, Klodian Zoto was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison and with a shortened trial he will serve 6.8 years in prison. The same sentence in absentia was given to Mirel Mërtir.

Stela Gugallja was sentenced to 7 years in prison and with a shortened trial will serve 4.8 years.

Pellumb Abeshi and Jonida Zeqo were sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment and with a shortened trial they will suffer 2.8 years of imprisonment.

Bardhyl Çabiri was sentenced to 2 years and Serafin Papa 1.4 years in prison.

Lefter Koka, as well as other defendants in the Elbasan incinerator file, were convicted by the Special Court of Appeal for abuse of office, active and passive corruption of high state officials or local elected officials, as well as money laundering.

The Court has also ordered the confiscation of some seized assets of the above-mentioned persons.

The Agency of Seized and Confiscated Assets in the Ministry of the Interior has taken over 12 real estates and 5 commercial companies, owned by Lefter Koka and 4 other people.

It is about 88% of the shares in the name of Lefter Koka, in a winery in Rrashbull worth about 245 million Lek.

Also, 3 units with a surface area of ??297 m2 and a value of 30 million Lek have passed on behalf of the state. In the name of 5 people, 8 apartments with an area of ??789 m2 and a value of 53 million Lek were blocked.

Part of the confiscation is also an immovable property, land with an area of ??147 m2 and a building with an area of ??126 m2, worth about 13 million Lek./ CNA





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