The Tirana municipality will award 1363.5 square meters of public land on Kavaja Street to private company Startek for the construction of a residential and office building.
In its latest meeting, Tirana’s Municipal Council has approved transferring ownership of this public land to Startek.
In exchange, the municipality will have ownership of 40% of the building.
Startek, founded in 2012 and owned by Lulëzim Mehmetaj, also built the playground at the Tirana Lake Park, a municipal project that was protested by citizens.
The government has also awarded Startek strategic investment status in the construction of several villas in the Dhërmi coastline.
In 2018, the company presented the municipality with the Kavaja Street project proposal. The area is one of Tirana’s most expensive ones, with apartment prices reaching €1400 per square meter.
Since March 2018, when the Tirana municipality approved a decision on “Defining the procedure and negotiations with private developers that show interest in cooperating with the Tirana municipality, via agreement of entrepreneurship/exchange for property under its ownership,” it can exchange public land for floor space or services from developers.
This decision paves the way for massive privatization of Tirana’s public property by construction companies, via potentially corrupt and clientelist contracts and mechanisms, basically transforming the Tirana Municipality into a state-sponsored real estate agency.
The land awarded to Startek stands witness to this fact, and proves Exit’s previous warning that the Tirana Municipality will transform into a real-estate dealer right.
