In Student City, on the site of building no. 19, which is today covered in inert materials and debris, there is no sign of the reconstruction of the facility that should have been completed in 2023, as the decision to reconstruct this building was made in 2021.
This building, which was expected to be completed in 2023, was designed to be converted into a student dormitory with a capacity of 200-300 students.
Instead of a new building for students, on the land where building no. 19 in Student City once stood, today there is only a destroyed space, filled with inert materials and garbage. A building that should have been a shelter for hundreds of students has become a symbol of abuses with reconstruction funds and the hopes of citizens who trusted public institutions.
Immediate evacuation
Following the earthquake of November 26, 2019, buildings 15, 18, and 19 in Student City were declared uninhabitable. The decision to demolish them was taken on December 5, 2019 by the Tirana Municipal Council, at the request of Mayor Erion Veliaj.
The Construction Institute, through an act of determination, declared this building uninhabitable after finding damage to the structure and recommended the evacuation of residents from the building.
According to a resident (the resident wished to remain anonymous) of building no. 19, the building had no structural damage but only some damage to the plaster.
Many of the residents of building no. 19 claim that the facility did not have serious damage. “They promised us that the best would be built for the students. But everything disappeared along with the building,” says a former resident, who now lives in a rented apartment on the outskirts of Tirana.
Around 27 families from this building were temporarily housed in rented apartments, benefiting from a rental bonus from the Municipality of Tirana. The Mayor, Erion Veliaj, had promised that all residents affected by the earthquake would eventually be housed in a new complex in the Shkoza area. However, some families, like that of the anonymous resident, have only benefited from the bonus for one year, after which the assistance was terminated without explanation.
Millions for friends
The lack of transparency and exclusion from the reconstruction program has forced some residents to take legal action. They have sued the Municipality of Tirana, relying on Law No. 49/2012 “On Civil Protection”. Article 41 of this law clearly states that the municipality is responsible for compensating people damaged by natural disasters.
But the disputes and lawsuits did not prevent the municipality from initiating tender procedures.
The demolition process of building 19 was carried out through a negotiated procedure without prior announcement, worth over 25 million lek, and was entrusted to the company “ARB & TRANS 2010” shpk. This company was previously owned by Arben Maloku, former administrator of the Zall-Herr unit and a person convicted of illegal construction and dubious benefits from public tenders, while the ownership has currently been transferred to his father.
On March 4, 2020 and September 20, 2020, according to Spending Data, this company received the corresponding amounts for the demolition. But what is more worrying is that construction never started and, in any case, on September 8, 2023, payments for unfinished work in the amount of 4.3 million old lek were made in favor of the contractor.
For the reconstruction of building no. 19, the winner was announced as the company “R&T” shpk, with a contract signed in November 2021 for a value of 304 million lek excluding VAT and a completion deadline of 13 months. The contract was signed after the disqualification of two other operators for lack of documentation.
Supervision of the project has been entrusted to the “Dekliada-Alb” Institute shpk, a company run by Mehmet Hasalami, a former official of the Ministry of Infrastructure, also involved in concession projects for the construction of hydropower plants.
Today, three years after the anticipated deadline for the completion of the building, the land where it was located continues to stand empty and covered in the dust of oblivion. Residents feel abandoned, while institutions provide no explanations for the delays and non-fulfillment of signed contracts.
Veliaj under indictment
On March 5, 2025, activists Aurel Kujtimi and Andrea Bregu filed a criminal complaint with SPAK against the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, and the former director of RSU no. 1, Anila Shehu. In the official document filed with the Special Prosecution Office, they accuse him of abuse of office and misuse of public funds, in connection with the construction of building no. 19 in Student City – a building that, according to them, “does not exist either physically or legally.”
“This is an affair with two serious damages: the first is the financial damage, where millions of lek have been spent without even laying the foundations, and the second is the symbolic and real damage to the public space that was promised to the students,” Aurel Kujtimi declared to the media after submitting the report.
“The building was not built. We have photographic and video evidence that proves this. There are only pits and construction debris there today. And again, on September 8, 2023, 4.3 million lek were executed for works that do not exist anywhere,” Andrea Bregu added, emphasizing that SPAK must act to prevent “voids from replacing justice.”
Another element denounced by activists is the contract for supervision of the works, signed by the Municipality of Tirana with the “Dekliada-Alb” Institute, owned by Mehmet Hasalami – an official at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.
“How is it possible that a supervisor signed off on a facility that was never built? According to the law, he is responsible for verifying every construction situation. In this case, which situation did he approve? The air or the gravel?” – Bregu underlined.
According to activists, this is just one of many cases where reconstruction funds have been used for dubious benefits and where transparency has been lacking from day one. They are calling on SPAK to expedite investigations and take legal action against the officials involved.
“Today it is building 19, tomorrow it could be a school, a road, a hospital. If this affair is not punished, every public investment remains unsafe and unprotected from corruption,” Kujtimi concluded.
For its part, the Democratic Party has supported the activists’ call, describing this case as “a clear model of exploiting disasters for clientelistic purposes.” The DP has appealed to SPAK to decisively move forward with the investigations and establish justice in the country, on behalf of citizens and the public interest.
Diplomuar në profilin "Shkenca Komunikimi", pranë Kolegjit Universitar "Beder".
Aktualisht studente në profilin "Mardhënie me Publikun", pranë Kolegjit Universitar "Beder".
Gjatë viteve të studimit, Xhensika është përfshirë në trajnime që kanë patur fokus gazetarinë cilësore.
