Some 1,300 minor assets under privatization

TIRANA, July 31 – Apart from the four small and medium sized power plants and Albpetrol whose privatization tenders will be held next September, some 1,300 other minor state owned assets are under the privatization process or potentially ready to be sold, Economy Minister Edmond Haxhinasto has announced.
In a recent meeting with directors of state-owned enterprises, Haxhinasto asked for a reduction of privatization time to 100 working days.
“Our key goal is eliminating delays, and bureaucracy in the different chains of privatization and all institutions involved in this process and make it compulsory to cut privatization time from 150 working days to 100,” said Haxhinasto, pledging transparency in the process.
Data show government collected 652 million lek from privatizations in the first six months of this year which is six times higher than planned. All money collected from privatizations went to finance the budget deficit.
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.
The Albanian government has collected a total of around 90 bln lek (USD 833 mln, Euro 632 mln) from the privatization of state-owned assets since the early 90s when the country’s 47-year communist regime collapsed. The data are made available in a study carried out by the Open Data Albania research centre covering the 1993-2011 period.
The study based on Finance Ministry data shows that most privatization revenues were collected during the past decade from the sale of key assets in the banking, telecommunication and energy sectors. What’s particular about privatizations in Albania in the post 2000 period is that they have peaked in general elections years or pre-election years such as in 2001, in 2004 and in 2009. The study finds out that privatization revenues in these years have covered 20 to 30 percent of budget deficit.