Seven months after the demolition of the Korçë-Ersekë road, the Albanian Road Authority (ARA) altered the contract to add an extra €4.3 million to the project. Prime Minister Edi Rama claims that the repair costs will be borne by the construction company, while experts argue otherwise based on official documents.
Esmeralda Topi
On the afternoon of February 18, the newly built Korçë-Ersekë road collapsed. As Kolonja residents awaited its inauguration, the road split in two at a location known as Qafa e Qarrit, making the route impassable.
The government quietly handled the massive road collapse, which sparked community reactions and accusations from the opposition.
Until June, the Albanian Road Authority refused to disclose the cause of the road’s collapse. Following numerous communications through the information rights coordinator, ARA insisted that it was still evaluating the repair of the defect, stating it could not provide definitive answers. Failure remained an orphan.
Determining the cause of the collapse would distinguish ‘the guilty from the innocent’, as identifying the ‘culprit’ was directly linked to the damage costs. Who would pay the cost of repairing the road—the company or the citizens?
It took seven months for the government to address the issue of the road. On Sunday, October 13, Prime Minister Edi Rama shared a video on his social media showcasing the completed road.
‘There was a lot of fuss and harsh criticism about a landslide on the road during the construction, which was completely rebuilt at the company’s expense. He who laughs last, laughs best’. wrote the Prime Minister.
FACT
A month ago, the Albanian Road Authority revised its contract with A.N.K, the construction firm handling the Korçë-Ersekë road project, adding an additional 4.3 million euros, excluding VAT. This brings the total expenditure for the second lot of the road to 26 million euros, not including the 20% value-added tax.
The Road Authority outlines four reasons that necessitated this second contract amendment within the year.
- Reevaluation of the bridge project over the Selenica River
- Reevaluation of the project related to improving the roadbed
- Adjustments in volumes due to discrepancies between the project specifications and actual conditions on-site
- Adjustments in volumes due to inconsistencies between the project and the preliminary budget estimates
None of these reasons are directly associated with the collapse that occurred in the first section of the second lot. According to the Road Authority, the additional 4.3 million euros are intended for another segment of the road—the second section of the second lot.
However, the devil is hidden in the details. Engineer Romeo Nazarko asserts that the project revision regarding the improvement of the roadbed confirms that the extra funding has been allocated to cover, among other things, the financial losses from the collapse.
‘Based on the tender bulletin and the historical context of this road, which has seen fictitious procedures in both its design and tendering processes, as well as in the oversight of the construction, it is evident that this additional funding has been used to conceal work related to the repair of the collapsed section,’ Nazarko argues.
‘Another key point that supports the notion that this amount has also been utilized for the damaged area is the specification found on page 127, which states that ‘the project will be implemented near a residential area (the village of Mollas).’ This highlights the fact that the damage occurred at the entrance to the village of Mollas,’ the engineer adds.
Public Procurement Bulletin
“One element that also indicates the fictitious nature of this work is the amount of 19% from the 20% allowed as an additional fund, a percentage very close to the maximum limit, without explaining why it is 19% and not 15%,’ he concludes.
The Korçë – Ersekë road is a total of 35 kilometers long, classified as a standard normal category C road, with only one lane. The construction of the road was divided into two lots. The first lot, measuring 18 kilometers, was completed during the democratic government at a total cost of 15 million euros.
Meanwhile, the second lot, which is 17 kilometers long, was tendered by the current government with an initial value of 5 Billion Lek, or nearly 48 million euros. However, this year, the inflated invoice was increased by a total of 9.4 million euros through two contract modification procedures.
With these changes, the overall cost of the Korçë-Ersekë road now stands at 72.4 million euros, excluding VAT. The project was originally scheduled for completion in June 2023, but the deadline was extended by a year. As the inauguration was anticipated, a section of the road ‘collapsed. A lawyer from Korça has submitted this matter to SPAK, and the new deadline for the road’s inauguration is a matter of weeks.
Conclusion
Based on the information gathered, we categorize Prime Minister Edi Rama’s statement that ‘the road’s slip during construction was fully rebuilt at the company’s expense’ as only partially accurate.
