Olldashi accused of granting monopoly for fibre optic lines

TIRANA, Sept. 8 – Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi has dismissed as untrue accusations by a daily newspaper that he has granted a 40-year monopoly for the construction of private fibre optic lines along national roads. In a press conference on Wednesday, Olldashi described accusations by daily Panorama as slander saying that the defamation attack came after the National Urban Planning Inspectorate identified the start of works for an illegal apartment block in the Dajt commune, outside Tirana. According to Olldashi, the apartment block belongs to Egnatia Group, a company owned by Irfan Hysenbelliu, also the owner of dailies Panorama and Gazeta Shqiptare and News 24 TV.
Olldashi announced he has written to Prosecutor General Ina Rama to initiate a probe on what has been written in the newspaper and has filed a lawsuit against the publisher and construction owner Irfan Hysenbelliu for slander.
Daily Panorama claims Olldashi has awarded a 40-year monopoly contract to Albanian Telecommunications Union to build fibre optic lines along national roads after cancelling the contracts of four other companies under an order dated August 23, 2010.
However, the minister claimed the permit was awarded after being examined by the Concession Treatment Agency, allowing the Albanian Telecommunication Union to install six fibre optic tubes in national roads, of which two for its personal use and four others to be used by other operators.
“The state budget benefits not less than 2 million euros under the new permit compared to nothing earlier,” said the ministry.