TIRANA, Feb. 26 – On Wednesday, the Municipality of Tirana announced that it was unable to reach an agreement with the private construction company ‘Fusha sh.p.k’ for the construction of the new National Theater in the capital city. As a result, the Municipality decided that the construction of the Theatre will be financed through public funds.
“The negotiating commission, in support of all the demands of the art community for a modern theater that fulfills the criteria necessary for the professional and high-quality quality theatrical performances, failed to reach an agreement with the private company. The financial model proposed by the private stakeholder for the construction of the new National Theater building and urban area development, as well as the complexity of the project, which had to meet all the technical requirements required by the artist community, did not enable the construction [of the Theatre] in a timely manner based on a modern infrastructure for a contemporary theater, ” the Municipality stated.
The construction of a new theater, based on a project developed by renowned Danish architect Bjarke Ingel, was opposed by a part of the artist community, as the decisions taken by the government raised many doubts. In 2018, the Parliament approved a “special law” that acknowledged the right of the private company to build a new theatre through its own funds. In turn, the company was allowed to build several multi-storey apartments in the center of Tirana. The government had strongly backed the project, stating that a Public Private Partnership was the only way to finance a costly project that it could not afford by itself, as the cost of construction according to the Danish architect was over 30 million euros. However, on Wednesday the Municipality stated that it had decided “that the new building of the National Theater would be built by the government through public funds.” The Tirana Municipality added that the project will commence this year.
