Minister of Culture Mirela Kumbaro has confirmed that the construction work in the Butrint National Park has been temporarily halted, but not suspended.
In an interview for News24, Minister Kumbaro declared:
The works have not been suspended. I requested that the works are halted through a letter with the conviction that it is worth that all questions of all actors are exhausted.
Minister Kumbaro perhaps forgot that the Law on Public Consultations has been written precisely to “exhaust all questions of all actors,” including the UNESCO, which claimed to be uninformed about the construction work on the World Heritage Site.
To the debate about the construction work in Butrint, Minister Kumbaro answered:
Nothing is being built. We are dealing with an existing construction. The existing building together with it platform are about 100 sq.m. and there is no question of construction, there is no question of digging. We are talking about the renovation of that existing construction.
Asked about the function of the “renovation” of the building, Minister Kumbaro clarified that it will be a space offering several services to tourists such as drinks or light snacks.
Even though the Minister of Culture declared that “the law and procedures have been implements one after the other,” she didn’t disclose any official document about the construction work or the public procurement procedure through which the company offering the “drinks and light snacks” was chosen.
