The Municipality of Tirana has today announced the tender for the construction of the National Theater building.
This is the first phase, which has a limit fund value of 1 billion and 854 million ALL without VAT.
The last date for the submission of documents is November 3, 2022, where the winning company will have a contract for 27 months.
The project for the construction of the National Theater Building, according to the data analyzed by Open Date Albania is the second public investment with the highest weight in the state budget for 2022.
The tender announced by the Municipality of Tirana
This project will be implemented by the Municipality of Tirana for the period 2022-2024, and has a total value of 4.8 billion Lek.
The year 2023 will also have the highest budget weight for this investment, of 1.5 billion Lek.
The main hall of the National Theater according to the project
Unlike other tenders of this value, this tender has not been divided into lots. According to the reasoning in the minutes, it is said that the procedure was not done with tears as it is "technically impossible to divide this contract into separate lots as it is difficult or impossible to determine in advance the volumes to be divided".
The study and design for the construction of the National Theater was done by two studios, A&E Engineering and Studio Konsulente F&M Ingineria.
The tender announced in 2020 by the Municipality of Tirana/Source: Open Procurement
In 2020 the municipality of Tirana opened a tender worth 60 million ALL, which in the Open Procurement database results in irregularities, as all competing operators except the winners have been disqualified. Among other things, the winner gave a value very close to the limit fund offered, while the merger of two disqualified companies gave a lower offer. The process has also been accompanied by complaints.
"How the statements about the construction of the National Theater changed"
More than two years after the demolition of the National Theater, the space remains surrounded, with remains of the former theater building and without an opportunity for citizens to use it.
In the afternoon of May 17, 2020, after the building of the National Theater collapsed, head of Tirana Municipality, Erion Veliaj contacted the citizens directly and considered the construction of a new theater a difficult but fair decision. As he showed that they are preparing to start work on the new theater.
In addition to the start of the works, he also confirmed the approved project to be implemented, of the studio Bjarke Ingels Group.
While more 29 June 2021, Veliaj announced that the National Council of the Territory approved the permit for the construction of the new Theater.
On July 5, 2021 expressed that the new year would find us with a construction site for the new theater.
But a year after this statement, the government "found obstacles in the way" and there is no movement in the square for the construction of the new theater.
"More money for the construction of the National Theater"
After numerous declarations for starting works, for changing the theater construction strategy, in 2022 the government is not ready to start the works.
more April 25, 2022, at the conference of the international weeks of culture, Prime Minister Rama said that the earthquake, the pandemic and now the situation in Ukraine have slowed down the implementation of a number of projects.
Likewise, the mayor Erion Veliaj said that the war in Ukraine has also affected the budget needed for the construction of the theater.
"None of us expected that on February 24, Russia's war or aggression on Ukraine would bring a total upheaval to the markets, especially the prices of iron and steel.t", declared Veliaj.
Initially, it was the company Fusha.shpk that was going to build the theater, for which the government passed a special law which then failed.
In May 2020, Veliaj declared that "the value of the new National Theater will reach 30 million euros, much of which will be provided with a loan". Loan which would be taken from commercial banks.
A few months later, in November, Veliaj promised that the theater would be built with the state budget and would cost 36 million euros.
A year later, in May 2021, uncertainties appeared again. Veliaj stated for the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, that the work on the construction of the National Theater would start that summer, financed by a loan received from the Abu Dhabi Fund.
Since 2018, the municipality of Tirana managed to announce today the tender for the first phase of construction.
He completed master's studies in Investigative Journalism at the Department of Journalism at the University of Tirana. She has been working as a journalist for five years, where she previously covered issues of politics and parliamentary activity, in print and online media. She is currently a journalist at Citizens.al, where she covers various social issues related to the transparency of institutions. At Citizens.al, she leads the podcast "The Unheard" and is engaged as a manager of projects related to the support of investigative journalism.
