TIRANA, Nov. 2 – Albania’s central bank building, a historic 1938 building and landmark in Tirana’s central bank, has been reconstructed under a €12 million project, upgrading the infrastructure in one of the country’s most important institutions for Albania’s economic and financial stability.
The reconstruction, carried out by an Italian firm in three and a half years, has preserved the rational architecture of its Italian architect Vittorio Ballio Morpurgo, improving the working conditions and adding a museum which features rare items from the collections of the Bank of Albania which has been operating since 1913, soon after Albania’s independence.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony last weekend, Bank of Albania governor Gent Sejko said the new building was one of the greatest architectural achievements in Albania, guaranteeing the best working conditions for the central bank’s staff.
“From the structural, mechanical and technical point of view, the building has been renovated with the latest technology, guaranteeing contemporary standards for the staff’s working conditions,” said Sejko.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said the central bank deserved the investment as one of the few institutions in Albania having a high level of confidence among partner institutions and international organizations.
“This investment is not lavish luxury, but an investment at the right time and right place so that the people working in this institution can interact in more quality and achieve greater results,” said Rama.
The reconstruction process led by Italian architect Marco Petreschi has also extended the building with some new 8-storey facility, four of which in underground parking for the bank’s 200 employees.
The Museum of the Bank of Albania, a new destination in Tirana’s cultural life, is a 900 m2 permanent exhibition that showcases numismatic collections from ancient times to present day, including gold bars, 1,500 coins, 300 banknotes and 200 museum items.
Having been a symbolic building in the capital’s central square, the Bank of Albania has witnessed the key events of the country’s economic and political development. It also preserves a lot of stories inside its walls and ‘secret’ rooms which will now be open to the public as part of the Bank of Albania Museum.
Back in 2010, Albania’s central bank bought the landmark state-owned Dajti Hotel building in Tirana, for €30 million in a controversial purchase to extend its facilities, but the reconstruction of the degraded building in Tirana’s central boulevard has seen little progress.
