Italian company looking to Albania for investment

TIRANA, Dec 17 – Italian energy giant Enel may cancel its projected investments in Italy and transfer them to Albania in order to bypass environmental costs, newsitaliapress.it reported on Tuesday.
Renzo Marangon, a politician from the Veneto region in Italian north-east, said in a press release that he was informed about the possible abandon of a 2 billion Euro worth project in Porto Tolle in North-East of Italy, after a court ordered Enel to improve its technology and to reduce pollution, something that would rise the cost of investment.
“I have been informed that Enel CEO Fulvio Conti has communicated with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Albanian premier Sali Berisha about the possibility to transfer in Albania this investment”, Renzo Marangon said in a press release, concerned about the loss of business and jobs for his region.
In 2007, Enel signed a memorandum of understanding with the Albanian government for the development of the Albanian energy sector. Under the agreement the company is committed to the development of a 1,300 MW coal-fired plant and the construction of a power interconnection line with Italy.
Such moves have been harshly criticized from environmental groups saying that Albania does not need such large power plants and they are done without properly informing the Albanian community of their environmental impact.
Over the past three years, Albania has been hit by an acute energy crisis, with regular power cuts throughout the country, including the capital Tirana.
Almost all of Albania’s domestically-produced electricity is generated by hydro-power plants, which are badly affected by droughts, and the distribution network is very old. Collecting the consumers’ money is another major problem in the country.