Xhafer Lila lives in one of the buildings behind the Emin Duraku school in Tirana. He and a group of residents they have been protesting for months, after learning that a 16-story tower will be built in the space between the buildings and the school yard.
"I don't know how such a mess can be allowed, especially next to a school where hundreds of students study, it blinds the children.", says Xhaferi, who has a close connection to the school as he is a teacher, indignantly.
The tower that sparked residents' protest is not an isolated case, but a concrete example of a development model that is sweeping across Tirana.
Citizens.al analyzed the permits reviewed by the National Council for Territory and Water (KKTU) and the Strategic Investment Committee (AIDA)* in the period 2015-2025, revealing that this collegial body has paved the way for the construction of at least 139 towers in the capital.
The KKTU is headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama, with extraordinary legal power, which he has regularly used to approve building permits that violate the criteria of the city's urban plan.
The Territorial Development Agency (TDA), which acts as the secretariat for the decisions of the KKTU, has in many cases failed to provide transparency in disclosing decisions on development and construction permits for towers, making public only 65 out of 139 decisions reviewed by the KKTU for buildings with heights from 8 to 100 floors.
There are a total of 72 projects that are only on the agenda of the KKT meetings, for which the institutions have ignored the duty to inform the public whether these constructions will be realized, rejected or changed.
Citizens.al has addressed the AZT with several requests for information, seeking transparency on the undisclosed decisions. The agency officially responded that the decisions are available on the AZT website, along with the site plan maps showing where the towers will be built.
To prove that this is untrue, it is enough to examine one of the recent meetings of the KKTU, that of February 27, 2025, where 59 construction and development permits were reviewed, of which XNUMX were published on the ARD website. only 9 , while the other 50 remain non-transparent, in violation of the legal deadline of 90 days.
In another case, it took 8 months for the ARD to 33-story tower decision clarified which is being built behind the National Theater.
"Towers rise, transparency decreases"
By analyzing permit data published over the last 15 years, Citizens.al has created a map of the location of towers in the capital. The data shows a progressive increase in height and intensity of construction.
Overall, the 139 towers (65 with whitewashed decisions) have an average height of 26 stories. Half of these buildings range in height from 24 (median) to 100 stories.
"What is happening is the 'urbanization' of the center under the pretext of urban regeneration or modernization.",” says urban planner Doriana Musai to Citizens. She points out that in no European capital is the construction of 30-story buildings allowed near monuments from the XNUMXth–XNUMXth centuries.
The most affected areas are those near the Clock Tower, the former National Theater, the National Bank and the "National Arena" stadium, where projects such as "Eyes of Tirana", "InterContinental Hotel Tirana", "Mount Tirana", "Book Building", "Downtown One", etc. have been built or are in progress.
On the horizon, behind the Opera, the winning project for the first skyscraper, expected to reach 300 meters in height, has been announced.Tirana Society Towers".
Experts argue that this has been made possible through a selective use of the capital's General Local Plan (GLP), which allows for "mixed zoning" in many areas.
The former Bloc area, is a clear example how the KKTU decisions have violated the height and intensity of construction criteria, set out in the urban plan. The Municipality of Tirana envisaged the development of the area with buildings from 5 to 9 floors, while the KKTU approved 12 construction permits for towers with higher intensity.
The dominant building height in Tirana has changed over the years; in the period 2000-2009, construction was largely limited, with buildings rarely exceeding the 10-story threshold. Between 2010-2014, a trend towards taller construction began to be observed, with buildings reaching up to 15 stories, however with clear limitations in central areas.
The real change occurred after 2015, when Tirana experienced a tower "boom", with projects exceeding 40 floors, including massive construction even in historical areas or near protected monuments.
KKTU: More power, less control and standards
Since the legal changes of 2014, the National Territorial Council (NTC) has become a central decision-making instrument for urban development in the country.
This body has received increased powers that go beyond traditional urban planning and also include the administration of water resources – recently being renamed the National Council for Territory and Waters (KKTU).
According to urban planner Doriana Musai, the current composition of the KKTU – dominated by ministers and government representatives – has replaced the more balanced model that existed previously, significantly weakening transparency and control mechanisms.
Through five amendments to Law 107/2014 and ten decisions of the Council of Ministers, this institution has unusually focused decision-making on strategic construction, often bypassing local government and supervisory institutions.
A significant example is "Vertical Hour" project – a 41-story tower near the Sports University – which conflicts with the General Local Plan (PPV), which allows buildings up to 9 floors.
The construction is planned on a public sports field, while the Municipality of Tirana changed the destination of the land with a decision in late 2023, paving the way for this development. This model has been opposed by architects, activists and citizens, raising concerns about cases of controversial expropriations that accompany similar projects.
Musai also points out the clash of current practices with the Law on Cultural Heritage (no. 27/2018), which stipulates that any intervention near monuments must receive a prior assessment by the relevant institutions. In reality, these assessments are often made “post-factum” – after the project has been politically approved – or are completely bypassed through special decisions of the National Council of Cultural Heritage justifying the construction as “national interest”.
She emphasizes that there is a lack of a functional monitoring system for the visual and aesthetic impact of towers in historic spaces.
*The list of towers also includes the project "cliffs” – an unsolicited proposal that envisages three 18-23-30-story towers on public land near the “New Boulevard”. An atypical case passed by AIDA and not mentioned on the agendas of the KKTU meetings. It has replaced the project of the Saudi Al Shiddi group, which also envisaged a high-rise tower. Submitted by the Adriatic Resorts company (with beneficial owners Steven Merrill Gallaway and Engjëll Pasha) “The Cliffs” received the status of strategic investment in 2024 and there is currently no information on whether there is a development permit or building permit approved.
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.
One Response