Veliaj's next multi-million euro affair/ Tender for the building that was never built

2025-03-13 19:30:00, Denoncim CNA

Another criminal report for abuse of office, corruption and violation of equality in tenders has been filed against Mayor Erion Veliaj at SPAK.

Also included in this complaint, filed by activists Aurel Kujtimi and Andrea Bregu, is the former director of the Student Residence, Anila Shehu. It concerns an affair with the reconstruction funds in "Student City".

In 2019, Veliaj sent the Tirana Municipal Council a request for approval for the demolition of building No. 19. In 2021, according to data from the “Open Data Albania” platform, the Municipality of Tirana carried out a direct procurement procedure, with the object of reconstructing building No. 19. The winning company of the tender worth over 300 million old lek was announced as R&T sh.pk.

This company, according to procedures, was supposed to complete the construction of the new building within 13 calendar months.

But what happened?

The works, which were supposed to be completed in 2023, never started. In the territory where building no. 19 was located, today there are only inert materials and bushes.

CNA was able to provide images showing the situation in the territory where building no. 19 once stood.

The works were not completed, although in 2023, the Municipality of Tirana made a payment worth around 44 million old lek. The payment was made on behalf of the company, at a time when the construction of the new building was allegedly completed.

The Municipality of Tirana was represented in the procedures of this tender by the Deputy Mayor of the Municipality at the time, Arbjan Mazniku, and the former Director involved in the 5D case in the Municipality of Tirana, Taulant Tusha.

The Municipality of Tirana has not provided any response to activists who have asked this institution for information on why the works that were supposed to be completed in 2023 never started.

Given the way the tender was conducted, the money that went to the company's account without any work being carried out, leads to the suspicion that this is a corrupt affair conceived and initiated by Erion Veliaj.

Regarding the role of former director Anila Shehu in this affair, there are suspicions that she was involved in the alienation of the land and space where building 19 in "Student City" was allegedly to be built.

The case resembles the Tirana incinerator mega-affair, with main author Erion Veliaj, for which hundreds of millions of euros were given from citizens' taxes for an incinerator that was never built.

Under these conditions, activists have turned to the Special Prosecutor's Office to bring to justice those responsible for the affair related to the reconstruction of building no. 19 in "Student City"./ CNA