Protesters Win ‘Battle’ in ‘War’ Over Albanian Theatre’s Fate

Protesters clashing with Albanian police on 24 July 2019 at the gates of the National Theatre. Photo: Gent Shkullaku.LSA

The announcement by Rama of the initiative on March 2018 was followed by two years of regular protests over the fate of the country's cultural heritage, political cronyism and concerns about the over-development of the centre of Tirana.

The project foresaw the construction of a new, smaller National Theatre on the current site, the rest of which would be given to a private investor to build high-rise apartments.

Rama proposed the concession through a special law approved by his majority in parliament over protests from the opposition who called him "a thief".

His planned use of the special law drew criticism from the European Commission, after protesters asked it to look into it, in terms of fair competition and an open market.

The Commission stated later that the law breached the terms of the Stabilization and Association Agreement between Albania and EU, as it forbade EU companies from competing for the project.

The government then made changes to the law to permit a fairer competition, which was opened last September. Five months later, the Municipality of Tirana acknowledged that the process had only received a single offer, and the negotiations had failed.

The city said the company had not been able to guarantee the building of the new theatre on time.

"The financial model proposed by the private party interested in the construction of the National Theatre and the development of the urban area didn't enable the rapid construction of the theatre," it explained in a statement.

The municipality stressed that its plan for a new theatre building was not dead, and it would now ask the central...