Confindustria: Systematic phenomenon of exclusion of foreign operators from tendering in Albania

2026-05-22 12:42:00, Aktualitet CNA

Confindustria: Systematic phenomenon of exclusion of foreign operators from

The Albanian Confederation of Industry has today raised concerns about what it considers a systematic phenomenon of the exclusion of foreign operators from tendering in Albania.

Through a reaction, Confindustria emphasizes that obstacles with subjective bylaws are completely against the standards of the EU integration process.

Confindustria estimates that the sectors most affected are: infrastructure, energy and technology.

Full reaction:

Confindustria estimates that in public procurements organized by state agencies and companies, the participation of foreign operators in the competitions has been made difficult, to the point of being practically impossible. The obstacles are clearly of the type of corruption of "state capture" with subjective by-laws completely against the standards of the EU integration process.

A clear example is the terms of reference set in the two international tenders of nearly 70 million euros for the “Elbasan Bypass” projects prepared by the Albanian Road Authority. Absurdly, within the 30-day deadline, foreign participants are required, as a mandatory condition for participation in the tender, to have their professional licenses equivalized by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

Meanwhile, the time process itself for reviewing the preliminary equivalence of licenses exceeds the mandatory deadline set in the terms of reference. The exclusion of foreign operators directly affects the public interest, the national economy, significantly increasing financial costs up to 2.3 times more expensive than the EU.

Also, the avoidance of competition has resulted in works outside the standards, which are quite obvious in the collapse of roads, tunnels, etc., with hundreds of millions of damages. The above leads to a violation of Albania's political obligations, an important part of EU integration, significantly making the process itself more difficult. The sectors most affected by the systematic phenomenon of excluding foreign operators from tendering in Albania are respectively: Infrastructure (Road Authority, railways, ports, etc.), Energy (OST, OSHEE, KESH), Technology (AKSHI). /CNA