In Durrës, the works for the construction of the public parking building in the center of the city have started. According to Faktoje’s verification, this promise given in October 2022 was recycled by the mayor of Durrës, Emirjana Sako, in the election campaign for the local elections of May 14, 2023. The project for the construction of the multi-story parking lot is funded by the government and foresees the creation of over 300 parking spaces, which is expected to ease the chaotic traffic in Durrës, especially during the summer season.
In April of this year, the Mayor of Durrës, Emiriana Sako spoke about the construction of a building for public parking in the center of the city of Durrës.
“Building a public parking building in the center of the city will put an end to the traffic issues that the city of Durrës has” – stated Sako, among other things (min 9:30).
A search shows that the same project was mentioned by Sako in October 2022, but it was stated that this the project was funded by the government, not the municipality:
“The investment will be funded entirely by the Albanian government. The Municipality of Durrës will benefit from a parking lot, which will be invested by the Albanian Development Fund and the use will be 50% to 50%. In this case, we are the land owners, and the investment comes from the Albanian government. Further, a proper business plan will be made on how the parking fees will be set, how the profit will be divided, and how everything will be managed.”
Faktoje asked the Durrës Municipality at what stage are the works for the construction of the multi-story parking lot and received as an answer that the construction of the facility is not the responsibility of this institution, but of the Albanian Development Fund.
“Regarding the points above, the investor is the Albanian Development Fund. The Municipality of Durrës is simply the beneficiary and under these conditions the data can be found at the ADF”, emphasizes the Municipality in its official response.
We also addressed the ADF officially, which officially clarified: “Albanian Development Fund plays the role of the Implementing Unit in the project for the construction of multifunctional parking in the city of Durrës, funded by the Albanian Government in the amount of 503,916,650 Lek including VAT.
Located between the train station, the city port, the intercity bus terminal, the city center and the exit towards the national roads, the new parking center has a special potential in the city, for the development of not only the surrounding area but even further.
The concept of the project is to create an urban space accessible from all directions, as well as facilitating circulation throughout the area. The main idea is for this project to be open to the public, creating a combination of different public functions, where the primary function is that of parking with a capacity of 324 parking spaces”, emphasizes the ADF.
According to the implementing unit, the works for the realization of this project have started and after the completion of the excavations and the initial layer, works shall continue with adding iron to the foundation slab.
In an on-site verification by Faktoje on October 6, we noticed that at this construction site the sign had as the deadline the start of the works in April of this year and the completion of the public parking building in April of 2024.
Worksheet, October 6, 2023
Observation at the construction site, however, shows clearly that the works were in the initial phase, which is also confirmed by the workers on the ground.
View from the construction site, where the public parking building is being built, October 6, 2023
During the monitoring in the city of Durrës, we also noticed that vehicles were parked on both sides of the roads, often becoming an obstacle for the passage of other vehicles, but also creating traffic.
“In Durrës, we have few parking spaces and it is difficult to find a spot. They park on the street, or right next to some corner of the residential apartment blocks. This is a problem especially during the tourist season, when the number of people increases, then it becomes even more difficult to find a place”, says Eri, resident of Durrës.
Durrës, October 6, 2023
Durrës, October 6, 2023
In an article published by Faktoje in January 2022, the citizens of Durrës raised concerns about the lack of parking spaces in the coastal city.
Based on the verification carried out, we decided to categorize the promise for the public multi-storey building as partially kept until now, as the works have started late and it remains to be verified if they will be completed in April 2024 as stipulated in the contract.
“Faktoje”, supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), is monitoring 15 municipalities in the country and verifying whether mayors have kept the promises they have made.
