“Exclusive”/ Milot-Balldren, 365 million euros for 17 kilometers of road. From the canceled concession to the new competition,

 more question marks about how public works are planned, procured and financed in Albania.

But before this road reached the new contract, there is a story behind it that starts years ago. A project first introduced with another funding scheme, political declarations to change the model, a tender procedure canceled and then, a new competition that ended with the announcement of the winner.

At the center of this story is Belinda Balluku, who during the time when she headed the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy made important statements about the progress and the way the project was carried out.

The Milot-Balldren road is one of the infrastructure projects that has gone through several stages in 8 years, from a concession proposed by the private sector in 2018 to a contested contract for the value and financial terms, its solution in 2021 and the reopening of the procedure with an estimated value of nearly 365 million euros.

Today, while the concession has received a determined value of 364 million 732 thousand 924 euros, there are many questions: How did we get here? What changed from the original project? Why was the first race cancelled? What is included in the bill of 365 million euros? And, above all, how much this road will cost the Albanian citizen

The story of Milot-Balldren is not only the story of a road that is expected to be built. It is the story of a public decision-making, where every project change, every procedure and every euro must be explained with transparency.

FROM THE FIRST PROJECT TO THE NEW CONCESSION

To understand how we arrived at the figure of 365 million euros, we must go back in time to years in which there were objections even from the president of that period.

In the Sectoral Transport Strategy and Action Plan 2016-2020, the Lezha bypass project on the Milot-Balldren axis was foreseen with a length of about 4 kilometers and a cost of 24 million euros. The project was then expanded to a road segment of about 17.3 kilometers with connecting roads and tunnels on Mount Renci.

It was July 2018 when the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy opened the first procedure for public-private partnership awarding. The published value was 161.5 million euros, while the duration of the contract was 13 years. The procedure was based on an unsolicited proposal from the company A.N.K., which had received a bonus of 8.5% in the assessment.

Although the winner of the bonus from the government and surprisingly a bidder, A.N.K was competing alone. And as such, it turned out to be the winner of this procedure on October 9, 2018. Thus, the project that was foreseen in the transport strategy as a bypass of 4 kilometers, was turning into a much wider concession with a significant bill for public finances.

But such a procedure raises questions about the terms of the competition, the interest of other operators and how the value of the project was determined….

The problems with this project started with financing. A.N.K. it would not finance the entire road alone. The plan relied on bank loans, financing from suppliers and company capital, while around 72.2 million euros were foreseen from the state budget.

According to the balance sheet of 2017, A.N.K. had capital of around 3.2 million euros, while in the financing scheme it declared a contribution of 52 million euros. This raises an important question, a single bidder: with what resources and guarantees would it provide the promised capital? A procedure overlooked at that time by the responsible state institutions.

But the lack of transparency continued in this procedure as initially the project would cost 161.5 million euros to be realized, but then its cost increased to 256 million euros. An increase of 60 percent, or 15 million euros for each kilometer.

It was these changes that turned into one of the main points of debate about the project. On July 18, 2019, the Assembly approved the law no. 52/2019 for the concession contract. But on August 8, then-President Ilir Meta returned the law for reconsideration, raising questions about the cost increase, the financial documentation, the changes in the project and the way the competition was conducted. 

The Ministry of Infrastructure itself on September 12, 2019 issued an official response on the institution's website, clarifying that there was no change in the anticipated contract. 

MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY

“This widespread information is a malicious speculation, since the draft of the Concession Contract that will be voted on today in the Assembly is the same as the draft that has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for consideration.

The process of approving a sub-legal act, such as the VKM for the proposal of the draft law for the approval of the Concession/PPP contract, goes to the electronic e-act system, which makes it impossible to modify the content of the act itself proposed by the initiating Institution, which in this case is the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.”

Despite the developed procedures and the approval of the contract in the Assembly, the project did not go to the construction stage. Only 2 months later, Belinda Balluku herself asked for additional money for these public-private partnership contracts, for which 0 ALL was provided for in the 2020 budget.

BELINDA BALLUKU

“This budget can never be called the infrastructure budget. MFE has decided to zero out the fund for this railway, removing 100 million ALL of internal investment and 200 million of external investment. This project is now from the cut budget of the Ministry of Finance. MFE cannot make a unilateral budget and without considering consultations.

If the documentation is not completed, if the funding conflicts with the law in force, it is a project that will be canceled.”

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy canceled this concessionary contract, which the budget revised on the way, due to the non-fulfillment of the preliminary conditions and obligations for the financial closure.

But it wouldn't stop there, neither for financing nor for a lower value offer.

On November 3, 2022, Balluku explained the change of model, talking about the transition from a public-private partnership scheme with availability payments, to a concession where the investment would be carried out by the private sector.

BELINDA BALLUKU

“Siç we have solved the problem of other lots, Milot-Balldren will also move from a PPP contract to a concessionary contract, which will open the competition at the beginning of 2023.”

After the first cancellation and a covid period where every budget was cut, the Ministry of Infrastructure comes with a new procedure for Milot-Balldren. 2 times higher in value.

On December 19, 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy opened a new concession procedure for the Milot-Balldren segment. This time, the estimated value was 364.7 million euros without VAT, while the duration of the concession was 35 years. 

The value included several different items: about 182.5 million euros for construction and rehabilitation, about 85 million euros for operation, about 83.4 million euros for routine and capital maintenance, about 10.1 million euros for the payment system and about 3.65 million euros for design. These figures show that the total value of the concession does not only represent the cost of road construction, but also the anticipated expenses throughout the contract period. In the new competition, four offers were submitted by economic operators who aimed to win the right to realize the project.

But after reviewing the bids, the competition failed to announce a winner. On 19 June 2025, the bidders were notified of the disqualification and the procedure was subsequently officially canceled.

MINISTRY OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY, AUGUST 4, 2025

“None of the submitted offers meet the requirements of the invitation to the competitive procedure, so no suitable offer has been submitted.”

Thus, after several years of discussions and efforts to realize the project, even the reopened competition at the end of 2024 ended without a contract tied to a winner in 2025.

But the story did not end with the cancellation. On August 11, 2025, just a few days after the annulment was published, a new procedure was opened for Milot-Balldren. This time the third truth. And almost 1 year later on June 5, 2026 without any details of how the competition was conducted, the winner of the new procedure for the construction of the Milot-Balldren road axis was announced.

The temporary merger of the companies SALILLARI, ALB TIEFBAU, InfraKonsult and ERALD-G was declared the winner, with 93 points.

The estimated value of the concession is 364 million 732 thousand 924 euros, excluding VAT, while the contract period is 35 years. This is the figure that puts the project at the center of the debate about the cost of public investments and how the financial burden of a long-term concession should be calculated.

But what exactly does this amount include?

Translated into kilometers, the bill comes to about 21.5 million euros per kilometer. But not the whole amount is construction cost. According to the procurement documents, around 182.5 million euros are foreseen for the construction and rehabilitation, while the rest for the design, payment system, operation and maintenance over 35 years.

In an analysis that Top Channel has carried out, it appears that only for the maintenance of 17 kilometers, a value of 83.4 million euros will be paid. But this value turns out to be higher than the costs of the usual contracts of the infrastructure ministry. On an average, the value for 17 kilometers of the maintenance of previously realized projects ranges from 5-5.4 million euros. Making Milot Balldre's maintenance bill much more expensive.

Experts raise concern in this part, according to whom the problem lies with the calculated concession bills, who say that it is the costs that must be clarified to understand if the value is based on real needs and calculations.

“The way they are manipulated are different, but the main one is through the selection of the criteria of the participants in a selective way. During the last decade, Albania has moved from a country that has had corruption, so to speak, to a country that has had systemic corruption. And Albania today, at least in terms of public procurement, is no longer a market economy, in the sense that you cannot compete in the tender sector and win. That is, every public procurement seems to be rigged from the ground up.” 

But the question marks go further than the maintenance and operation bill. The second competition of this concession ended with three offers with the same value of 364.7 million euros. Two were disqualified and the winner received 93 points. If the price was the same, what were the criteria that made the difference

Experts raise precisely the problem of criteria that can limit competition and influence the determination of the winner.

GEORGE EREBARA, ECONOMIC EXPERT

“Albania is no longer a market economy. The lack of foreign participants in concessions, in competitions for large concessions. The lack of foreign contractors. If you remember, in the old days, Austrian companies came and competed in Albania for road construction. Now you have the fact that you have absolutely no foreign companies. For decades... for a whole decade. For them to come to Albania and win the road construction tender... This shows that you are no longer a market economy.”

Meanwhile, not all the details of the agreement have been made public. The procurement register shows the winning consortium and the estimated value of nearly 365 million euros, but important contract data is still missing, including the final contracted value, the division of participation between the four companies and the financial plan of the winning bid.

Top Channel officially addressed the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the Ministry of Finance, through requests for information dated September 19, 2026, requesting documentation on the Milot-Balldren concession procedure. Where you were asked for the criteria of the canceled and reopened procedure, the results of the evaluation of the offers, the scoring tables, as well as the financial methodology on which the value of around 365 million euros was determined. Also, the documentation on the feasibility study, the financial sustainability of the project, fiscal risks and possible liabilities for the state budget, as well as any change of the financial model between the two procedures.

Until the moment of preparation of this material, the institutions have not responded to Top Channel's requests, although their deadlines have been exceeded.

But the questions about the gold concession are not only related to the financial value of the project and the way the winner was selected. Another aspect that requires attention is the profile of the companies that will undertake the construction of this road axis, as well as the history of the people behind them. Among the names there are also people who ended up in the files of SPAK.

The winner of the competition announced by the Ministry of Infrastructure is the consortium of companies “Salillari”, “ALB TIEFBAU” of Flamur Hoxha, “InfraKonsult” of Redi Struga and “ERALD-G” of Gëzim Ismaili.

“ERALD-G” is owned by Gëzim Ismail, whose name has been mentioned in the investigations for the file known as the “Aruba Group”. The vice president of the Democratic Party, Belind Kelliçi, has publicly stated that Ismaili is involved in investigations related to suspicions of international drug trafficking and money laundering. In June 2026, it was also reported about security measures established within this file.

These are ongoing investigations and not a finding of guilt. But it is not the only name.

Even Redi Struga of “InfraKonsult” is involved in the investigative actions of SPAK. In June, the Special Prosecutor's Office ordered inspections as part of investigations into suspicions about the alienation of properties in Zvërnec.

So, two of the companies of the consortium that will build and operate Milot-Balldren are related to people involved in cases that are currently under investigation.

Milot-Balldren is meanwhile a project that comes with a precedent.

In 2018, the concession was awarded to A.N.K., but the contract was subsequently terminated for non-fulfillment of financing conditions. The audits of KLSH for the first procedure identified problems in the financial documentation, including inconsistencies in the amounts and financing terms declared.

Eight years later, Milot-Balldren returns for the second time. And this time, two of the names associated with the winning companies are simultaneously in the attention of SPAK.

A new road can shorten distances, facilitate transport and improve connectivity between areas. But when infrastructure is built through a toll concession, the benefit must be seen alongside the cost.

For citizens, the question is not only when the road will be finished. It is also how much it will cost to use it and how it will affect the daily expenses.

Although the real fee must be verified in the final contract and in the conditions of its implementation, a reference fee of 0.12 euros per kilometer is provided. For a segment of 17 kilometers, this translates to about 2.04 euros for a one-way pass.

“To get here, in Thumanë-Kashar, a driver, in addition to transport costs, has to pay 2.5 euros for a pass. But this is not the only bill for the trip to the north, as another axis will start with a fee. It is Milot-Balldreni, which will cost about 2 euros.”

However, even this calculation shows that the payment can be a significant expense for those who travel regularly. But for a person who uses this route every weekday, with a round trip for 20 days a month, the cost would amount to around 81.60 euros per month.

Leon Ndreca, a resident of the Milot area, says that such costs of the roads that are already being paid for will be very burdensome, especially for those who will have to use these roads for work.

The reactions show that citizens see the road from different perspectives. Some consider the toll a cost that can be afforded if the road provides service and saves time. Others worry about the impact the fee will have on the family budget.

“After 17 kilometers of highway, the Milot-Balldren axis will end here in Balldren, which will be realized through a concession worth about 365 million euros and with a contractual term of 35 years.

But the question that remains is whether this bill, which citizens can pay through taxes and tolls, will be accompanied by a road that justifies the costs.”

Milot-Balldreni is more than an infrastructure project. It is a test of how public investments are planned, how competitions are conducted, how costs are explained and how citizens' interests are protected.

From the initial model to the new concession, from Belinda Balluku's statements to the cancellation of the competition and the announcement of the winner, every stage of this story requires to be seen through concrete documents and responsibilities. The figure of 365 million euros is already in the project documents. But what should be equally clear is what the public gets in return for this amount.

And until these questions are fully answered, Milot-Balldreni remains a project that not only requires construction, but also accountability