Documents leaked to the media reveal suspicions about the involvement of the Mayor of Kolonjë, Erion Isai, in manipulation and favoritism of private companies in public tenders.
According to the materials provided, the Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) has opened investigations into two large tenders: the construction of the Korçë-Ersekë road, with a total value of 65 million euros, and the construction of a water supply for 13 villages in Kolonja, with a value of around 4 million euros.
The documents, which include phone conversations and WhatsApp messages, according to the investigation, show close coordination between Isai and the administrator of the winning company, Entela Çano, owner of “A&E Engineering” sh.pk.
The Special Prosecution Office has decided to merge two criminal proceedings related to the tenders for the construction of the Korçë-Ersekë road and several other infrastructure projects in Kolonjë.
The first proceeding, No. 280 of 2020, was registered based on the complaint of citizen Romeo Nazarko, for the criminal offenses of “Abuse of office” and “Violation of equality of participants in public tenders or auctions”, provided for by Articles 248 and 258 of the Criminal Code.
The second proceeding, with no. 39 of 2024, was registered following the complaint of citizen Esmerald Xhafa, for the criminal offense of “Abuse of office”.
According to the prosecution’s reasoning, the object of the investigation was the same, so on July 22, 2024, SPAK decided to merge the two proceedings into a single one. Two days later, it was announced that the criminal proceedings included the mayor of Erseka along with several other local officials of the municipality that he has led since 2019.
The road that devours money
The 35-kilometer Korçë–Ersekë road was expected to be completed in June last year. The project has been plagued by delays, high costs, and now the massive collapse of a segment in the Qafa e Qarrit area, making the road impassable.
Construction work began in 2013. The first lot, 17 km long, was tendered by the former government at a cost of around 17 million euros. In 2020, Prime Minister Rama’s government continued the tendering procedures for the second lot, also 17 km long, which was won by the ANK company, owned by the brother of former socialist MP Ndue Kola.
The first part of Lot II, 4.15 km, cost 22.4 million euros, while the remaining part, 12.85 km, almost reached the limit fund with 20.6 million euros. With the modification of the contract, the total cost of the 35 km road has increased to about 65 million euros, for a carriageway width of only 8.5 meters. The company “A&E Engineering”, owned by Entela Çano, has been contracted to supervise the works.
Just when it was expected to be inaugurated on February 17, 2025, part of the segment collapsed in the area called ‘Qafa e Qarrit – Mollas’, endangering the lives of passers-by and forcing the return of traffic to the old Korçë–Ersekë road.
The following day, Esmerald Xhafa filed a criminal complaint against the ARRSH, the Municipality of Kolonja, and the companies ANK and A&E Engineering. The complaint includes suspicions of the following criminal offenses: “Abuse of office”, “Forgery of documents” and “Corruption of persons exercising public functions”. Xhafa has also attached video footage that proves the poor quality of the works and the deviation from the approved project.
A second report, for the same object, was made by engineer Romeo Nazarko, according to whom the company began work without the relevant permits, while the project values were fictitiously increased.
“The Albanian Road Authority, under the Public Roads Authority, has ascertained a fictitious increase in the financial value of the project, as well as changes to the route of the road,” Nazarko’s report states. He adds that there was no consultation with the residents of the area regarding the new project, which has increased the distance of the road to the surrounding villages.
“The engineers have conducted a field survey of the new route, which does not belong to the design studio, but to the company that would undertake the implementation of the works,” states the engineer’s report, who has listed all the facts for the prosecution, starting from the relevant permits to environmental impact assessments.
Part of the investigation file is also a second tender for the construction of a water supply system for 13 villages in Kolonja, with a value of around 4 million euros. These tenders, on which there were reports in the special prosecution office, have been merged into a single investigation, in which the prosecution has taken the mayor of Erseka and local officials as defendants.
In the documents provided by the media, the prosecution does not clarify the investigations regarding the road, but the file includes details about the mayor’s involvement in the water supply tender for 13 villages.
Isai has not commented on the allegations, but preliminary investigations have brought to light suspicions of serious violations in public procurement procedures, where he and his subordinates are accused of having predetermined the winners of tenders, favoring the company “A&E Engineering” sh.pk of administrator Entela Çano.
Water supply worth 4 million euros
SPAK’s preliminary investigations reveal a suspected scheme where the mayor of Kolonja manipulated tender documentation, changed the estimates and appointed supervisors according to the interests of the winning company.
The leaked messages and phone calls show the mayor’s direct intervention in every step of the procedure. On July 3, 2020, the company administrator sends Isai the material “Preventive bed of Kolonë”, a tender that provides for an investment value from the state budget of about 4 million euros. This message for prosecutors is an indicator of changes in the tender fund; the mayor coordinates the submission of procurement documents and supervision of the project.
Isai had frequent communications during September 2020 with Entela Çano regarding the submission of project documentation, the transfer of projects to the technical council, and coordination with engineers and supervisors. In a message dated September 15, Isai sent Çano Armand Tafili’s contact information, writing: “I will take you for supervision.”, and Çano replied: “Thank you very much.”
SPAK investigations are examining these communications in detail as possible evidence of abuse of office and violation of the public procurement law.
Special investigations reveal the suspected scheme of pre-determination of the winner, where the tender documents were drafted according to the requirements of the company “A&E Engineering” sh.pk, illegally favoring the private operator.
“The documents administered show that the members of the procurement unit, Armand Tafil, Erjon Cenko, Shpëtim Liço, in collaboration with the head of the contracting authority, Erion Isai, acted in violation of articles 1, 2, 20, 36, 74 of Law No. 162/2020 ‘On Public Procurement’, as well as with Council of Ministers No. 914/2014”, the investigative file states. Their goal was to “favor and create unfair privileges for the winning company of this procurement procedure”.
SPAK suspects that Isai used his position to manipulate the tender process, predetermining the winner, changing the estimate figures, and appointing project supervisors according to the interests of the winning company.
Gazetare në “Rrjetin e Raportimit të Krimit të Organizuar dhe Korrupsionit në Shqipëri”- RRKOKSH.
