The Albanian Development Fund (FShZh), a state institution whose board is fully under control of the government, has opened a tender for a feasibility study of an airport in Korça. The public procurement procedure, whose deadline is tomorrow, has a maximum budget of 7,397,000 lekë (~€55,000).
The General National Plan (PPK), which regulates that urban planning of Albania until 2030, includes no such airports. According to Minister of Urban Development Eglantina Gjermeni’s introduction:
On the legal and technical plane, the document of the General National Plan “Albania 2030” determines the legal framework and major parameters that are obligatory for the implementation by executive organs and those who implement it up to the citizens. It also once and for all puts an end to the chaotic and spontaneous development, abuse of the territory and touristic and natural wealth of our beautiful Albania.
But curiously, beside the currently operational Tirana International Airport, and Kukës Airport, which is still not operational, the PPK includes a project for airports near Vlora and Gjirokastra, in order to facilitate holiday tourism to the Albanian Riviera. There is no mention of an airport near Korça, as is clearly shown by a map of the integrated transport infrastructure of the country.
This raises the question: why would the FZhSh, which has supported a multitude of projects around Albania at the request of the government, now propose a feasibility study for an airport that is not planned in the PPK, and will therefore probably either not be built or be “chaotic” and “spontaneous”? The winner of this tender will certainly give an indication as to who profits from this “ghost” airport.
