The implementation of the “Mountain Package” in Albania, a law adopted in April this year and aimed at promoting sustainable economic development in the country’s mountainous regions, was discussed with mayors by the Prime Minister of the neighboring country, Edi Rama.
Mr. Rama criticized local authorities for delays in submitting maps of priority investment zones, saying that the slow pace of work has discouraged many potential investors. According to the Albanian Prime Minister, about 800 expressions of interest were received through the government’s online platform on the first day of its launch, most of which came from Albanians living abroad. “We called this public meeting because this package is an incentive policy aimed at creating a platform for investments in mountain areas.
The delay in responding to applicants goes against the very spirit of the package,” said Mr. Rama. The Prime Minister announced that each municipality should set up a three-member working group to assist citizens and investors applying under the Mountain Package. He also urged mayors to designate as many eligible areas as possible and submit the corresponding maps to the government by October. Mr. Rama noted that the 500 applicants who sign the first ten-year contracts under the program will be exempt from taxes (VAT, income tax, infrastructure tax, etc.), stressing that municipalities must act quickly to help them benefit. He also stressed that local governments should contribute to national economic development and not rely solely on redistribution of revenues. More generally, the “Mountain Package” initiative is a recent initiative of the Albanian Government that claims to seek to stimulate private investment and local entrepreneurship in underdeveloped mountainous areas, simplifying real estate and construction procedures, offering tax incentives and supporting infrastructure improvements.
In particular, the relevant law provides for the creation of favorable conditions for attracting investment and promoting economic and tourist development in areas where many lands belong to private individuals, who, however, do not have official property titles, therefore cannot exploit them, nor can they be registered as municipal property. This has led to a profound imbalance in development between coastal and mountainous areas and hinders any form of development (mountain tourism, rural entrepreneurship, investments in energy, livestock or forestry) resulting in a lack of jobs and the movement of populations from the region to the urban centers of the country (Tirana, Durrës) and abroad.
The process of joining the “Mountain Package” initially includes the entry of interested investors into the relevant electronic platform and the registration of their data, which will then be verified by the respective municipality. Subsequently, investors must submit a development plan, after the approval of which the land ownership of the property will be granted for a symbolic price (1 euro). The ultimate goal of the Albanian government is to strengthen regional development, the economic recovery of mountainous areas, increase municipal revenues, promote investment and limit the phenomenon of migration through a simplified administrative procedure, which will allow the transformation of unused land into a source of development for the country’s underprivileged areas.
The information comes from the Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs in Tirana.
