The Ministry of Culture has recently revealed its plans for the coming years. One of projects included in the 2013- 2015 period was the reconstruction of the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet (NTOP), as well as the inauguration of the National Theatre, which will happen in 2017.
Among other projects for the near future, is the opening of the Marubi Virtual Museum in Shkodra, after the digitization of 100 thousand photos by Marubi photographers.Moreover, according to the catalog by the Ministry of Culture, the Gjethi Museum, which was once used for eavesdropping by the National Security, will also open this year even though it was initially planned by The Ministry of Culture to open in 2015.
The Multifunctional center of Culture which will host the National Theatre will be implemented within the 2016-2017 period, while the reconstruction of the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet, it is not known yet when it will happen.
Included in the plans for 2016 is also the doubling of the budget for various projects by the Ministry of Culture. Regarding donations for the realization of cultural projects or restoration of cultural heritage, IPA (Program of Adriatic cross-border cooperation) has donated 750 thousand euro for the restoration of the Monastery of Saint Mary in Apolonia, Fier; 30 thousand euro for the Castle of Lezha as well as 70 thousand euro for the Castle of Ali Pasha in Butrint. 100 thousand euro were donated by TICA (Tirana Institute of Contemporary Art) for restoration of objects such as the Et’hem Beu Mosque in Tirana, the historical center of Gjirokastra, Muradie Mosque in Vlora, etc.
The American Fund of Development has donated 1 million euro for the realization of 5 electronic ticket offices in archaeological sites, as well as the restoration of Bazaars in Kruja, Korca, and Tirana. The Albanian Fund of Development donated 500 thousand euro for the restoration of Gorica and Velabisht Bridges. In 2015 the Ministry of Culture announced 517 new monuments of culture, while last December presented the WebGIS maps, a database with all of the archives of the Institute of Cultural Monuments. Regarding the income, the Ministry of Culture stated that there were 77 million lek collected by the tickets sold at cultural heritage sites in 2015, a million more compared to 2014, and 22 million more compared to 2013.
