FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Here's how the government has licensed the erosion of the Shkumbin River...
While the Albanian Road Authority states that the massive landslide on the Librazhd-Prrenjas axis is a result of intense rainfall and denies interference with the Shkumbin River, official documents show that the government itself has granted permission for extensive use of the riverbed by the companies implementing the project.
The head of the ARRSH, Ami Kozeli, publicly stated that "there is no violation by the contractor in the acquisition of inert materials" and that IKMT has inspected the area. But the facts show that the interventions in Shkumbi are not a matter of secret violations, they are authorized by state licenses.
The ANK company, which won Lot 4 of the Elbasan-Qafë Thanë road expansion worth around 20 million euros and operates near the area where the collapse occurred, received a license for the exploitation of inert materials in the Shkumbin River on December 19, 2024. The permit is valid until December 19, 2027 and provides for the exploitation of 490 thousand square meters of riverbed, with the right to obtain 71,561 cubic meters of inert materials.
The document clearly states that the use of the riverbed is for the implementation of the project "Widening the Elbasan-Qafë Thanë road".
ANK is not alone. In July 2023, the company Alb-Building, winner of the first lot worth 21.8 million euros, received permission to erode Shkumbin on an area of 610,710 square meters, with the right to take up to 619,637 cubic meters of inert per year, or 1,858,911 cubic meters throughout the entire permit period, which expires in 2027.
In April 2024, the company “4 AM” also received a three-year permit for use within the framework of phase II of the project, worth 24.2 million euros. The permit includes 175,824 square meters of surface and 316,483 cubic meters of inert per year, or 949,449 cubic meters over three years. A few days ago, BKH, by order of SPAK, also exercised controls on the company 4 AM shpk of Ardit Metaliaj, who is suspected of being a prestano of Bashkim Ulaj. Over the last 5 years, the company 4 AM shpk has received over 140 million euros of public money from the state treasury, through clientelistic, predetermined tenders and with false documents.
Yes, Alb-Building received another permit in July 2025, this time for the "Papër–Ura e Grykshit (Phase III)" project, part of the Elbasan-Lekaj axis, with the use of 111,834 square meters and 226,807 cubic meters of inert material in total.
Government client Pëllumb Salillari has also benefited. In June 2025, it received a license for the “Elbasan–Paper (Phase I)” project worth 20 million euros, with 169,773 square meters of usable area and 425,000 cubic meters of inert in total.
So, the interventions on the Shkumbin River are not episodic, but officially approved and directly linked to road projects in the area.
Meanwhile, the massive landslide in Librazhd–Prrenjas has made the segment impassable, isolating the southeast of the country and forcing the diversion of traffic and goods through other border points. While officially the blame is attributed to rainfall and natural erosion, the facts show that the riverbed has been the subject of intensive exploitation with permits granted by the government itself.
Today, as citizens and businesses face the consequences, the question remains whether the impact of authorized interventions on the Shkumbin River will be investigated in depth and whether responsibility will stop with "nature", or will it go to the decision-makers who granted the permits.
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