Tourism Law in Europe

ALBANIA | NADA DOLLANI, XHON SKËNDERI, ARMELA MAXHELAKU 41 procedures within a short time and avoidance of delays by the investor. The project with the strategic potential status is proposed by the line ministers responsible for the project or by the investor who has proposed the project. Line ministers, responsible for a project with strategic potential status, propose granting the status to those projects considered of public interest, proposed and organided by central or local government bodies, for which the legislation in force provides the performance of competitive, concessional, public partnership, public procurement procedures, through competitions, contests or public tenders. The interested investment entity, which results a winner at the end of the competitive procedures, may further apply for obtaining the status of “Strategic investment/investor, assisted procedure” or “Strategic investment /investor, special procedure”. Following the DCM no. 1024 “On the approval of projects with “Strategic Potential Project” status”, the Agency is the competent administrative structure for providing services in a “unique window” for investors and strategic potential projects. To this end, the Agency organises specific operational groups, which comprise experts from line ministries, areas where strategic investment is required, in order to assist and professionally support the follow-up of all procedures and the preparation of all acts of legal documents, with a view to the preparation, implementation, development and realisation of a special strategic investment project. Upon obtaining the “strategic potential project” status, the investor has the right to benefit from further assistance from the Agency for obtaining the final status of “Strategic investment/investor, assisted procedure” or “Strategic investment/investor, special procedure”55. The investor and the competent bodies may sign a memorandum of understanding in the stage of expression of the preliminary interest and preparatory actions that develop the potential strategic project in conformity with the provisions of article 15 of Law no. 55/2015, “On strategic investments in the Republic of Albania”. The memorandum of understanding includes the commitments of the parties for the implementation of the project, including on the one hand the services that the competent bodies will provide in favor of the strategic project and the commitments that the potential investor will undertake to prepare and implement the strategic investment project56. In addition, the legislation on strategic investment raises concerns for the protection of biodiversity, as it may allow large tourism and industrial investments in protected areas. In April 2021, Albania signed the contract to build Vlora Airport within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Area, in contradiction with 55 Article 1, Chapter III, of the DCM no. 1024 “On the approval of projects with “Strategic Potential Project” status”. 56 Article 2, Section III, of the DCM no. 1024 “On the approval of projects with “Strategic Potential Project” status”.

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