Surprise greets issuing of contract to Italian firm which never fulfilled first agreement

TIRANA, May.8- In a surprise move, the government has again awarded a contract to build a power plant to an Italian firm which previously failed to fulfill the same contract in 1997.
Ten years ago, the same Italian firm, Bechetti, was awarded a contract to build a small hydroelectric plant for Kalivac. However, the power plant was never built and the government froze the contract in order to find a new construction firm. Having failed to find another company, the government has again awarded the contract to Bechetti.
During a press conference, Economy Minister Genc Ruli noted that Bechetti has been reorganized, with Deutche Bank now a 45 percent owner of the Albanian project. The cost of building the hydroelectric plant has been placed at $120 million.
Observers note that some contracts with foreign companies in both the energy sector as well as in mining have gone unfulfilled. In the case of Bechetti, the company was supposed to begin operations within ten months of signing a contract. However, construction was never begun.
During his 2000 election campaign, former Prime Minister Nano promoted the supposed inauguration of construction of the plant during his campaign.