TIRANA, July 9 – Prime Minister Edi Rama revealed this week that his government plans to construct an undetermined number of buildings at the entrance of Tirana’s main park, a project that would replace some of the existing green space with concrete and glass.
The announcement was met with a torrent of anger on social media, largely due to the fact that these plans were never mentioned during the recent election campaign that saw the prime minister’s party victorious in the capital.
Rama led a ceremony Monday in which 11 mostly international architectural studios competed with projects that invariably took large swaths of green space away from the ever-shrinking Tirana Lake Park and changed the character of Tirana’s historic Mother Teresa Square.
Rama said the new buildings were needed to host several new public services.
Jorida Tabaku, an opposition representative, said the buildings would be given to businesses affiliated with the government as a gift for financing political campaigns.
The government said none of the proposals met its standards, and it will postpone a final decision in September.
Sensing a political opening, opposition representatives also called on the government to stop throwing more cement on the city’s already minimal green areas.
Civic society representatives raised questions about the competition and urged the authorities to take into consideration the opinions of residents.
The protection of the park has become a symbol of defiance for a loose alliance of environmentalists, civil society group and members of Tirana’s educated middle classes.
Polls show a majority of Tirana residents oppose any new construction of city parks.
The city’s green space is a tenth of European norms, environmentalists say.
Albania’s newly-elected mayor, Erion Veliaj, who is also a key member of Rama’s inner circle in the Socialist Party, did not make any public comments on the subject.
