Sequi: Clear property titles essential to attracting FDI

TIRANA, July 25 – Clear property titles and legal certainty are essential prerequisites for prosperous development of the country and attracting foreign investment, said Ambassador Ettore Sequi, the Head of the EU Delegation to Albania. The comments were made last week during the launch of a Euro 1.5 million project on land registration and road signs in Albania’s southern coast. “Only when such a system is finally in place will Albania become an attractive location for foreign investors to establish operations leading to employment generation,” added Sequi.
The EU funded project will be implemented by the OSCE. This project in a key touristic region of Albania aims to complete the first property registration and updating of existing registration for some 60,000 properties in coastal areas of the country from Palase Gjolek in the north to Xarre. This will give owners clear legal title and boost the potential for investment in the region. The project also includes new street signs installed in Saranda, Selenica, and Armen, and soon to be installed in six other areas (Golem, Qender Vlora, Orikum, Lukova, Delvina and Dhiver) at a cost of Euro 103,000.
The Head of the OSCE Presence in Albania, Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth, stated: “The project will assist the Government in increasing security of tenure, which is crucial for the sustainable development of the coastal area. It will also provide a basis for officials and lawmakers to formulate appropriate laws, policies and procedures to establish clear property titles and to protect this right.”
The project collects and processes property-related data and facilitates public participation in a transparent process that will provide public institutions with the information required to accurately determine and protect property rights. It offers natural and legal persons the opportunity to provide documents and information demonstrating a right to property and to request legal recognition of this right. All documents and maps collected and generated under the project will be handed over to the Immovable Property Registration Office.
The project, which receives additional funding from the Governments of Greece (Euro 100,000), the Czech Republic (Euro 50,000) and Switzerland (Euro 30,000), is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.