Today, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Belinda Balluku dismissed the head of the Albanian Road Authority (ARSH), Afrim Qendro.
Former State Minister for Entrepreneurship Sonila Qato was nominated to head the ARRSH.
Minister Balluku did not give reasons for Mr. Qendro’s dismissal. His dismissal follows yesterday’s resignation of head of OST Klodian Gradeci, of which Minister Balluku had demanded his dismissal by the OST board. Both government agencies were involved in separate tender scandals with the same shell company, Dunwell Haberman (DH) Albania, which won two tenders for €30 million through forged documents.
Ministry of Energy and ARRSH announced the shell company DH Albania the winner of the €18 million tender for the first of the three lots of the Tirana Outer Ring Road. Few weeks later, the same company won another €12 million from the OST for the construction of a transmission line between Burrel and Peshkopia cities.
Both tenders were cancelled following journalist Ylli Rakipi and PD deputy Agron Shehaj’s publications of forged documents DH Albania had used to win the tenders.
It’s not clear whether the prosecution has initiated criminal investigations into the two former heads of government agencies, OST’s Gradeci and ARRSH’s Qendro.
