The Albanian government’s plans to expand the country’s air transport sector have run into controversy with both the construction of the new Vlora airport and a proposed extension to the concession for Tirana International Airport facing fierce opposition. 

Until now, Tirana International Airport has been the only international airport in the country, but since the airport lost its monopoly on international flights plans are underway to rebuild and expand the existing airport at Kukes and to build a new airport at Vlora. 

However, a large group of NGOs have appealed to the Albanian government to scrap plans to build the new Vlora airport in a protected area. In an open letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama, the NGOs from Albania and numerous other countries in the region urged the government to reconsider the plans to build the country’s third international airport in the Vjosë-Nartë Protected Landscape area. 

“While we appreciate initiatives from the Albanian government that aim at investments that give a huge contribution [to the] socio-economic development of our country, we are deeply concerned about the actual location of the project, as the construction of an airport there would irreversibly damage the ecosystem of ‘Vjosë-Nartë Protected Landscape’,” said the letter from the 36 NGOs. 

“Such an investment would bring about uncontrolled and unsustainable development models that would irreversibly damage the natural values and resources of the area.” 

The letter stressed that the Narta Lagoon and the surrounding ecosystem “represent one of the largest and most important wetland ecosystems of Albania and the Mediterranean”. 

The letter also argued that going ahead with the project in the current form “creates obstacles on the integration path of our country in the European Union, which has been the main aspiration of Albanians in the last 30 years”. 

The airport close to Vlora, a major city on the coast, is expected to have a substantial impact on economic growth and tourism in the area. In November 2020, the Albanian government launched a third tender for the construction of Vlora airport, after the initial two tenders failed. 

While Vlora airport will be built from scratch, there is already an airport at Kukes, Kukes International Airport Shaikh Zayed, named after one of the founders of the United Arab Emirates, Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who personally financed the original project. The airport was completed in 2006, but remained out of operation as the then government had granted a monopoly to Tirana International Airport for international flights.

Located in the northwest of the country close to the border with Kosovo, Kukes is planned as a gateway for low cost airlines, but is a long way from the coastal resorts that are the main draw for tourists in summer.

A joint venture of Albanian-registered Global Technical Mechanics and Bami won the tender, but Exit.al later revealed that Global Technical Mechanics is linked to major local construction group Kastrati Group that has since taken over the concession for Tirana airport. 

Meanwhile the government plans to extend the concession for Tirana airport for a further 13 years under a draft law submitted to parliament. Kastrati Group bought 100% of TIA from the Chinese company Real Fortress Limited in December, announcing a package of investments the following month, as part of the changes to the concession agreement for the airport, according to its press release. 

It plans to spend around €100mn on expanding the airport's capacity by 6mn passengers per year, a runway extension, improvement of the airport infrastructure and a significant improvement of service quality. It also announced that it will reduce the passenger tariff from €12.5 to €10, which it expects will bring down ticket prices and result in a larger number of flights serving an increased number of destinations from the airport.