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The black affair with "Durana Tech Park", how nearly 50 companies are favored...
A year ago, the Albanian government announced with great fanfare the establishment of “Durana Tech Park” in the Xhafzotaj area of Durrës, as the first technological and scientific park in the country. On paper, the park’s goal was to promote innovation, develop technology, and attract investment in the IT sector.
But two days ago, former Deputy Prime Minister Arben Ahmetaj described the project as one of the most sophisticated tax avoidance schemes in the history of the "Rama" government.
According to Ahmetaj, instead of serving as a technology center, "Durana" has become a tax haven for a narrow circle of businesses connected to the government.
" Durana should have been a park as stated in Law 58 of 2022, which explicitly states what a technological and scientific park is. It is a defined area of land and or buildings which, by decision of the Council of Ministers, is declared a park and enjoys a special status of economic and fiscal development with the meaning of a free zone according to the customs code. So, the park must have geographical borders, it must have entry and exit gates and the functioning of a customs point. What is happening in Xhafzotaj? What was this used for? This was used to lie to Albanians so that a group of companies would not pay taxes, companies linked to the government. I have 26 companies here that have obtained authorizations. And I invite Albanians to go to Xhafzotaj to see whether this park exists or not. It is a virtual park. The law does not talk about a virtual park. That you register your address in Xhafzotaj and work at the block in Tirana and do not pay taxes. Fraud against Albanians. And here you have the companies. "Companies, order. This is a virtual model ," Ahmetaj said.
At the center of the scheme is the Albanian Investment Corporation, led by Elira Kokona, which took over a public asset (the old RTSH radio station in Xhafzotaj) to turn it into the center of this "park".
The scheme is based on the ACTI (Association of Information Technology Companies), a private structure that recruits companies in four membership levels: Individual, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Fees to enter this “circle” start at 50 euros per year and go up to 5,000 euros for Gold members, while there is no official fee for Platinum status – you just have to “contact” the director, according to ACTI’s internal materials.
Members of the Platinum category are the companies "Soft Solution" of Ermal and Beqiri, "Helius Sistem", "Fastech", "Hard Tech", "Albict", "Kreatx", "DEV", "Communication Progres" and others.
While in the "Gold Members" category are: "Horizon" again by Ermal Beqiri, "ALBA SCAN", "Introvus Solutions", "RT Group", "Evolutivo Albania", "ATOM Computers", "ISEC", "Axians", "EA-Solution", "Atrax Software Solution", "Starnet", "CyberFarm", "Baboon", "Fenix" and other companies whose number goes somewhere around 50.
The head of "ACTI" is Ermal Beqiri, previously involved in scandals with AKSHI tenders and currently wanted by SPAK, along with another businessman Ergys Agasi.
"Durana Tech Park" was registered on February 20, 2025 at the National Business Center and was established almost a month and a half after Ermal Beqiri created the "ACTI" association.
Almost all companies have fictitiously transferred their address to Xhafzotaj to benefit from total tax exemption, turning the technopark law into a weapon of financial abuse.
The decision to create the park was taken by the Council of Ministers, upon the proposal of the Ministry of Economy, and was accompanied by a report describing the activities that will be developed: software development, Big Data analysis, digital security, artificial intelligence, R&D, etc. But according to the investigation, none of these activities are actually developed in the park's territory.
Furthermore, the fiscal incentives are drastic: 0% tax for 15 years, exemption from VAT and customs, exemption from construction taxes, reduction in employee insurance and reimbursement for training. More specifically:
-0% Profit Tax for a 15-year period for income generated from activities taking place in the park.
-VAT exemptions for goods and services used for research and development (R&D) purposes. -Customs duty exemptions for imports of technological and innovative equipment.
-Social Security benefits, where contributions can be paid based on the minimum wage for a certain period.
-Exemption from all taxes for a period of 10 years for the salaries of personnel working in research and development in the park.
-Exemption from infrastructure impact tax and real estate tax for a period of 10 years for constructions carried out in the park.
-Partial reimbursement by the state for training costs for scientific and technical employees in the park, according to criteria and procedures approved by decision of the Council of Ministers.
-Customs formalities and procedures for the entry and exit of goods into/from the park are carried out according to the Customs Code and the documentation of foreign citizens who carry out activities in the park.
On April 2, 2025, it was Edi Rama who promoted "Durana Park." The head of government handed out certificates to the first "residents."
" What is a nice surprise for us in the interest in becoming part of the digital society of Durana Tech Park is not simply the number of foreign companies or the diversity of the map from the USA, France, Germany to Asia, but it is the other aspect that impresses us the most, that there is interest from academic institutions with reputation in Europe ," Rama boasted.
But in fact, we can compare “Durana” to the Virgin Islands or Cayman Islands, which serve as tax havens. While citizens pay taxes every day and face poor public services, “Durana” seems to be designed to create a special law for a privileged minority. The bells should ring for SPAK, because after AKSHI, Ahmetaj brought something else to light. /Pamphlet
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