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The Albanian Investment Corporation will lead the “Hospitality Albania” project, which aims to turn the government residences of Vlora and Velipoja into luxury tourism structures. The institution has previously been criticized by the Supreme Audit Office for lack of procedures, projects without analysis, and ineffective management of funds.
The government has given another key role to the Albanian Investment Corporation (AIC), the institution led by Elira Kokona, by tasking it with implementing one of the most ambitious projects for the transformation of state properties in the country.
Through a decision of the Council of Ministers, the Corporation has been authorized to coordinate the process of identifying, consolidating and developing state-owned properties for the "Hospitality Albania, Vlora" project, an initiative that aims to transform former government residences into elite tourism destinations.
These are the government residences of Vlora and Velipoja, properties that have been used for decades to host state delegations, foreign dignitaries and official activities. According to the project documents, these structures are now considered unused assets with high maintenance costs for the state budget.
Precisely for this reason, the government has chosen to remove them from their traditional function and turn them into luxury hospitality complexes, oriented towards high-income tourists, investors and VIP clientele. The project manifesto states that the residences will collaborate with prestigious international hotel chains and will be positioned as elite tourism destinations in the Mediterranean.
The document foresees that these properties will no longer function as state residences, but as commercial structures with high accommodation standards, contemporary architecture, green technologies and exclusive services. According to the vision presented by the Corporation, the project aims to create a new development model for state properties, turning them into income-generating assets.
For the implementation of this project, the government has given the Corporation broad powers. It will coordinate the process with the State Cadastre Agency, the Directorate of Government Services and other public institutions, negotiate with private entities involved in the area and draft the final urban development concept.
But while the government entrusts another strategic project to the Albanian Investment Corporation, the institution itself carries a problematic balance sheet according to the Supreme State Audit.
In the audit for the period 2019-2024, the Albanian Supreme Audit Institution (KSAI) has given a qualified opinion on the Corporation, highlighting numerous shortcomings in its functioning. According to the report, the institution has operated for years without complete methodologies for the selection and development of projects, without standard manuals and without detailed analyses on risk and economic profitability.
The auditors found that some of the projects designed during the years 2022-2024 were developed without full feasibility studies, economic impact analyses and clear cost-effectiveness assessments. In some cases, external experts were contracted and public funds were spent on projects that were subsequently not pursued.
The SAI also highlights negative effects on the administration of public funds worth approximately 4 million lek, problems in recruitment procedures, lack of documentation, and the functioning of the Supervisory Council for years with an incomplete structure.
Despite these findings, the Albanian Investment Corporation remains the institution that the government is using to manage a significant portion of public assets and development projects. It is now also in its hands to transform the former government villas of Vlora and Velipoja, properties that have been part of the state inventory for decades and are expected to be transformed into one of the largest luxury tourism projects in the country. / Pamphlet
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