The Albanian government will purchase apartments already built by construction companies, but which they have not been able to sell, to house some of the families left homeless after the November 26 earthquake.
The purchase procedure has not been made public, so it is uncertain whether there will be any competitive bidding or the government will purchase them by direct negotiation.
At today’s government meeting, Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke of “public calls” asking the government to purchase these apartments, without giving any details on this. Rama said the purchase will include any builder who has unsold apartments.
“A call to buy apartments is also being prepared, a matter of a few days. It is important to make a call to all who have unsold apartments.”
It seems that the process will proceed rapidly, as the prime minister announced that the first phase of purchases will be completed on December 15th, in about a week from now:
“By December 15th all families who lost loved ones in the earthquake […] will be moved to their apartments.”
This means that, although a public call has yet to be made, the government already knows how many apartments it will buy and the terms of the purchase. Otherwise, it is difficult to believe that within 4-5 days it will open a call for bids, receive bids and evaluate them.
The prime minister also announced that families who are staying in hotels and do not want an apartment from the government will receive cash.
Families made homeless by the earthquake might not be housed in the same location, but in other settlements. This is most likely to happen with Thumana families, who may relocate to other cities including Tirana.
The prime minister suggested that about 150 buildings were to be demolished: “33 buildings have been demolished and 5 are in the process. 105 [damaged] buildings are in the danger zone.”
The government will provide public land to build new housing, but the funding and construction scheme is still unclear. It is preparing a special law on reconstruction that could be adopted by the end of the year.
To facilitate the whole process, it appears that the government may extend the period of natural disaster emergency for the three districts, Tirana, Durres Lezha, and will adopt a separate law on the reconstruction of collapsed apartments.
