The installation of dozens of security cameras in Tushemisht has raised questions about the need, cost, and method of implementing the project, in a tourist area that is not known for significant criminal problems.
It involves 58 PTZ-type cameras, installed on poles placed at distances of approximately every 20 meters.
According to the source , the Municipality of Pogradec has stated that it was not the initiator and has not provided information on the entity that made the investment.
Meanwhile, the Albanian-American Development Foundation has clarified that the project is part of the Drilon-Tushemisht Water Park interventions and that the funding was carried out by it, in institutional cooperation with the Pogradec Municipality and central structures.
According to the Foundation, the project was designed by Portuguese studio PROAP, selected through an international competition in 2018.
The master plan and detailed project were approved by the National Territorial Council in December 2020 and include an area of approximately 1.5 million square meters, where public spaces, ecological areas, promenades, a visitor center, and landscape interventions are envisaged.
For the practical implementation of the works and the supply of equipment, the company "Alb-Star" sh.pk has been contracted.
For the components that required additional funding from the state budget, including the promenade and the Tushemisht–Dogana–Shën Naum road segment , the Albanian Development Fund was engaged as the implementing agency.
Regarding the management of the investment, the Foundation announced that after the completion of the works, the project was handed over to the Municipality of Pogradec, which took over the use of all the infrastructure, including cameras, poles and servers.
This process was carried out based on the investment agreement signed in July 2022 between the Municipality of Pogradec and the Albanian Development Fund.
Regarding the implementing company, "Alb-Star" sh.pk is currently managed by Bledar Lloshi and operates in the field of civil and industrial construction, as well as in trade.
The company has previously been the subject of verifications by law enforcement authorities as part of other investigations, and in the past it has been found to be owned by Idajet Ismailaj and Sadik Ismailaj.
According to documents from the Fier Prosecutor's Office, in a previous case related to the hydrocarbon sector, the company " Alb-Star " was mentioned as a contracting entity in suspected schemes for fictitious invoicing, inflated expenses and illegal financial benefits.
These issues date back to the period when the company was under previous ownership and have been dealt with in separate investigative files.
Currently, the camera project in Tushemisht is considered completed and in use by the Municipality of Pogradec, while for the long-term management of the Drilon-Tushemisht Water Park, a joint structure has been created between the Municipality and the Foundation, in line with the models applied in other similar projects in the country.