Government approves economic areas for industrial parks

TIRANA, Jan.7- The government has approved, in special session, the creation of two Albanian industrial parks. Carrying out a proposal of the Economy, Trade and Energy minister, the administration has allocated 61 hectares in Koplik of Shkodra as well as 3.2 hectares in Sh쯧jin of Lezha. However, these will not be genuine economic areas but will operate as industrial parks with no further fiscal assistance.
The taxation that businesses within these industrial parks will be subject to will be standard. The facilities that this area will offer to business and enterprise will be of an infrastructural nature, explained the advisor to the Prime Minister, Selami Xhepa.
The first area, in Koplik, has been set aside for production activities such as industrial and agricultural processing and export-import activity.
Businesses that operate in these areas will have administrative facilities and 24-hour supplies of energy. The Ministry has granted a working period of 35 years for the areas.
Concessions
An economic area is defined as a zone developed by an entity that will have to acquire a concession from the government in order to develop the necessary structure of the area for the interested business activities. Following that, they can rent out space to other contracting entities. The administration had first declared that the economic or industrial zones would be concentrated in the districts of Tirana, Dures and Fier. The economy Minister, Genc Ruli has told the media that a boom of such areas was to be expected in Albania. The administration, though, postponed such decisions for six months. No genuine economic areas with lower taxes have been designed yet.