The Vlora landfill project stalls, garbage remains on the streets

2023-07-23 18:11:00, Aktualitet CNA

The Sherishta landfill remains unfinished after the seizure of Klodian Zoto's ITS company, while municipal officials say the current waste field is dangerous and it is still unknown if the landfill will ever be completed.

By Jerola Ziaj-BIRN

Urban waste in Vlora continues to accumulate on the outskirts of the city in a landfill outside management standards, which has long been overflowing and occasionally bursts into flames.

"Waste storage in the current collection area has become dangerous due to the accumulation of methane gas and fires, which are also provoked by high temperatures," says Edmond Leka, the director of the Public Services Enterprise near the Municipality of Vlora.

The municipality of Vlora expected to solve the issue of waste treatment with the new Sherishta landfill as early as June 2021, but the deadline has been postponed several times and the works have remained at a standstill since January of this year.

The Sherishta landfill is just one of the acts of the saga of incinerators in Albania.

Its construction is part of an integrated project for waste management in the Vlora region worth 20.8 million euros financed by KfW, of which 12.5 million euros are loans and the rest are grants.

In June 2020, Integrated Technology Services, in collaboration with the Italian company Bulfaro Spa, was announced as the winner of a tender of 9.8 million euros for the construction of the landfill with a capacity of 350 thousand tons of waste.

From December 14, 2021, the company Integrated Technology Services is under preventive seizure by order of the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime.

Its sole shareholder, Klodian Zoto, has been declared internationally wanted by the State Police, accused of money laundering and corruption. In two separate cases, for the incinerators in Fier and Elbasan, SPAK has requested a total of about 15 years in prison for Zoto.

After the seizure, the company was appointed as public administrator Farudin Arapi, and in May 2022 BIRN found that work at the site had continued despite the company's legal problems.

But Arjona Bojaxhi, the director of the Regional Waste Management Center near the Municipality of Vlora, told BIRN that the work stopped in January of this year and that they do not have a deadline for its completion and putting the landfill into operation.

Bojaxhi, who a year ago was optimistic that the project would be completed, recently told BIRN that there was no more clarity.

'We are waiting and we are very worried about the completion of the project,' she said.

Bojaxhi explained that officially there is still no date for the delivery of the work to the municipality of Vlora and as a result no one can predict when this will happen.

The construction of the landfill has been completed, but the plants that are part of it have not been connected to each other and are not in operation. Likewise, the electrical connections and office furnishings have not been made,' said Bojaxhi.

Projektit i mungojnë gjithashtu peshoret në hyrje të kantierit. Bojaxhi thotë se nëse këto vendoset në landfill, mund të ‘kishte nisur të paktën grumbullimi’.

Edmond Leka, drejtori i Ndërmarrjes se Shërbimeve Publike pranë Bashkisë së Vlorës, i tha BIRN se ata kishin marrë një zotim nga Farudin Arapi, administruesi publik i kompanisë, që të paktën peshoret të vendoseshin në vend deri në fund të muajit qershor. Por Leka tha se nuk e dinte nëse kjo do të ndodhte.

‘Përpara disa ditësh në një takim të përbashkët të bashkisë së Vlorës me Bankën Gjermane për Zhvillim dhe administratorin shtetëror të landfilldit kemi arritur të negociojmë për përfundimin deri në fund të muajit të peshores dhe vendgrumbullimit, për të shmangur të paktën depozitimin e mbetjeve në fushën aktuale të mbetjeve,’ tha Leka.

Contacted by e-mail and phone, Arapi did not respond to BIRN's questions about the project's work and completion date by the time of publication of this article.