The National Territorial Council (KKT), presided over by Prime Minister Edi Rama, has formally approved the construction of a 26-floor tower next to Skënderbeg Square, between Rruga e Kavajës and Rruga e Durrësit. The prospective construction site was already for several months surrounded, even though no official permit had been given.
The building, called “The Eyes of Tirana,” will be built by Concord Investment shpk, which is owned by the three Dulaku brothers who also own construction company Edil Al-It and media outlet Vizion Plus. The Dulaku brothers are close to the Rama government, receiving several plum jobs over the last year, including the renovation of the Theater of Opera and the National Ensemble.
In return, the Dulaku brothers censored critical journalism on their TV station and filed a lawsuit against journalist Artan Rama, which they recently lost.
The Eyes of Tirana is the result of an architecture competition from 2003 set up by then Mayor of Tirana Edi Rama, which was won by the Danish Henning Larsen Architects. Construction work was planned to be completed in 2005–2007, but got delayed ten years.
It is unclear when the building will be finished. The Millennium Business Center on Rruga e Kavajës, visible in the photo above, dating from the same period, is still not finished, while the 4EverGreen Tower, down the street across the Orthodox Cathedral remains unfinished and bankrupt.
