Foreign investment shrinks from start of year predictions

TIRANA, Dec.24- There is a discrepancy of 50 percent between the foreign investment net predicted in the budget at the start of 2007 and the actual figure calculated at year’s end. In the revised budget for 2007, the government has increased funding for investments from 36.1 billion lek to 59.9 billion lek. Foreign investment figure have fallen from 32.4 billion lek to 16.9 billion. According to the explanations given in the press conference by Finance Minister Bode, some of the reasons lay with foreign donors and local administration authorities, which have not been efficient in the allocation and realization of investment funds. One of the problematic cases is the Lushnje-Fier road segment.