Redi Struga’s “InfraKonsult” company, one of the people connected to the construction plans in the Zvërnec area, is part of a consortium of companies that won the concession worth around 364 million euros for the 17 kilometers of the Milot-Balldren road.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Enea Karakaçi, announced on Friday the completion of the procedures and the announcement of the winning company for the construction of the Milot-Balldren road. The ministry officially confirmed to BIRN that the winner was the merger of the companies “Salillari” sh.pk, “ALB TIEFBAU” sh.pk, “InfraKonsult” sh.pk and “ERALD-G” sh.pk.
The announcement of the winner of the 364 million euro concession was made on Friday by the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Enea Karakaçi, but in his speech the minister did not mention the winning companies. BIRN learned the names after questions addressed to the minister and communication with the ministry’s press office.
According to this announcement, in addition to the company “Salillari” and two other companies, part of the merger of operators is also “InfraKonsult”, owned by Redi Struga. The latter is one of the names associated with plans for the development of a tourist resort in Zvërnec, linked to Jared Kushner and two brothers from Qatar.
Struga, as BIRN discovered in an investigation, purchased 1.2 million square meters of property in the Pishe Poro-Narte protected area through the company “South Adriatic Development” and founded the company “Albania Land Development”, which is owned by two billionaire brothers from Qatar and which later turns out to be the land buyer.
In a public statement, Minister Karakaçi described this segment as a very important axis of the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor. He acknowledged the difficulties of the process, stating that the procedure has not been easy due to previous unsuccessful attempts.
The history of the Milot-Balldren road concession is littered with cancelled procedures. The project for the 17-kilometer segment was initially awarded after an unsolicited proposal in 2018, with an estimated cost of around 32 billion lek (around 364 million euros) over 35 years. The concession has been repeatedly criticized by both the opposition and international organizations such as the IMF and the World Bank, which have stressed that such contracts are developed without proper competition, carry high risks for public finances and do not offer value to justify the costs. (BIRN)