More than 1,000 military assets under privatization

TIRANA, Sept 24 – The Defence Ministry has identified more than 1,100 assets under its ownership which it describes as excess and a burden to the state budget. The figures were announced by Defence Minister Arben Imami during a recent meeting of the steering board on the monitoring of the registration of the real estate in the Armed Forces.
Addressing participants, minister Imami said military assets privatized or made available for use would be reassessed only based on maps before 1991. “A priority will be given to the passing of free properties to the Property Compensation and Restitution Agency and excess properties to the local government units. From 1,300 properties currently under our possession only around 180 to 190 remain in the Armed Forces Development Plan. In 2009, around 1,000 properties were not part of the development plan and in these three years only military depots emptied from excess material and ammunition are not part of the plan,” said Imami.
“We don’t privatize or sell, we have the key duty of preparing accurate documentation of all assets in the inventory of the Defence Ministry,” added Imami calling for cooperation with line ministries.
The opposition Socialist Party has been skeptical about the privatization process is carrying out and accused minister Imami of planning to give away important military assets to people close to government.
The ministry has denied accusations, saying that the military assets are too costly to keep and assured of transparency of their sale under public tenders.
Since joining NATO in 2009, Albania’s military forces have undergone transformation turning into a fully professional army also participating into international peace-making missions. The compulsory military service has also been lifted.
Back in early 2011, government identified 1,280 public assets including strategic enterprises it intended to privatize as soon as possible. The privatization list includes remaining state owned shares in strategic oil, and phone companies, small hydropower plants, military facilities and small and medium-sized enterprises, except for big hydropower plants and dams, schools, hospitals and public buildings and offices which will remain under state ownership.
Data show government collected 702 million lek in privatization revenues in the first seven months of this year, five times more than it had planned. Privatization revenues from major remaining assets such as oil giant Albpetrol and four small and medium-sized hydropower plants are the only hopes that could save the 2012 budget without major cuts.