The incinerator does not exist, but the government continues to increase funds

The contract for the Tirana incinerator continues to be one of the main items weighing on public finances.

This project, which has long faced serious accusations of corruption, continues to be financed from the state budget, while the physical facility has not been built and does not exist on the ground.

According to official data from the Ministry of Finance, for 2025, around 13.98 billion lek are planned to support concession contracts with PPP, of which 5.59 billion lek are investments and 8.39 billion lek are current expenditures.

"Compared to a year ago, this represents an increase of 683.8 million lek, or 5.14% more, driven mainly by the increase in the payment plan for the Tirana incinerator contract, as well as for the container scanning project," the Ministry of Finance explains regarding developments in the 2025 budget.

Finance explains that for the Tirana incinerator, the increase in the payment plan for 2025 is a direct consequence of the failure to make payments in 2024, but what stands out is the fact that, despite continuous budget payments, the facility has not been built and has not produced any services for citizens.

In total, in the first five months of 2025, actual payments for all concession contracts with budget support reached 4.24 billion lek, or 30.3% of the annual plan, while for May, 749.1 million lek were realized, where the most funded project was the one for medical laboratory services.

The incinerator scandal, which has involved prominent political and business figures, puts this very project at the top of the list, turning it into a symbol of the misuse of public funds and institutional impunity.

The Ministry of Finance emphasizes that monitoring of PPP contracts is carried out on a monthly basis, with the aim of controlling risks and maintaining fiscal sustainability.

But in the case of the Tirana incinerator, this monitoring seems more formal than real, as payments continue without any concrete results on the ground, deepening citizen distrust and increasing pressure on the state budget in an unjustifiable way.

The Landfill Construction Project, Incinerator and Rehabilitation of Existing Tirana Landfills and Electricity Production Project will be financed this year with 12.7 billion lek, about 13 million euros.

According to the 2025 budget, this project receives 9% of the total payments for PPP concessions financed from the budget.

As detailed treasury invoices show, the payments are made to Integrated Energy, which is under state administration, due to accusations raised by SPAK for a major corruption affair.

The state administrator is being billed for the construction of the incinerator, the work on which has not yet begun.

Although there are laws, guidelines, rules and legal structures that prevent the release of funds if there are no invoices for work, payments still continue, causing material and moral damage to Albanian taxpayers./ Monitor