On Monday, Albania’s parliament overruled President Ilir Meta’s veto of the law for the extension of the concession agreement of Tirana International Airport.
Following the parliament’s decision, the President’s veto was rejected by 84 votes against, 9 abstentions, and 11 in favor. The law will now enter into force having exhausted all other legal processes.
In December 2020, Kastrati Group purchased the concession for the country’s only operational airport from a Chinese company. This gave Kastrati the right to operate the airport for the remaining 6 years of the 22 years in the original concession contract of 2004. Following the sale, the government proposed extending the concession by 13 years in return for Kastrati pledging to invest some EUR 100 million in the airport. The proposal was approved by parliament and sent to the president.
Meta refused to approve the law and in February, he returned the law to parliament.
According to the President, “the agreement extending the term to 35 years from 22 years is unconstitutional and has the highest level of legislative corruption”.
He added that “The concession procedure violates the constitutional principles of free and fair competition, to open a transparent tender” and said it violates the standards and values of the European Union and the provisions of the Stabilization and Association Agreement.”
