The Democratic Party has sued to the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) the Minister of Infrastructure Belinda Balluku, for violation of the tendering procedure of the Port of Vlora. According to the DP, Balluku has “unfairly disqualified” some bidders who have participated in the public procurement, without respecting the law on the “Public Procurement.” Besides that, the DP accuses the Minister of accepting a bid which did not follow the criteria set out in the standard documents of the tender. “The actions or omissions committed in the procedure cited above have consumed the elements of the criminal offense of “Abuse of duty” provided by Article 248 of the Criminal Code and “Violation of equality of participants in public tenders or auctions” provided in Article 258 of the Code Penal,” stated the DP.
The DP further accused Balluku of choosing the most expensive bid for the public procurement. “The offer in the amount of 22’842’417 euros without VAT of the Company “Marina Di Valona” Sh.p.k. identified as the winning bid, compared to the bid in the amount of 22’725’572 euros of the Company “Gjikuria” Sh.p.k. and the offer of the Company “Albavia” Sh.p.k in the amount of 1’876’427.700 ALL without VAT […] The monetary difference between the bids is considerable, causing a great economic damage to the public funds of the state budget,” said the DP.
Last week the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy announced as the winner of the tender for the Port of Vlora, the joint venture created by the merger of the local companies Marina di Valona, Brunes, Ndregjoni and the UK based Marina Projects. According to the Ministry, the tender includes the design, construction, operation, maintenance and transfer of a port for yachts and small boats in the city of Vlora.
