Butrint is concreted/ Rama doubles the "tiny spot" of Kumbaro, adds 18 thousand square meters of construction to the Alb Star resort

2024-12-27 20:09:14Biznes SHKRUAR NGA KLODIAN TOMORRI
Rama doubles down on Kumbaro's "tiny point"

 

 

The National Council of Territory and Water has decided with a stroke of a pen to almost double the construction area of ??the Monastery Resort complex, which is being built in the Butrint park.

In the amended permit, the construction area of ??this resort increases to 45.3 thousand square meters of construction, from 27.3 thousand square meters of construction area that was in the original permit. The decision that almost doubled the concrete and construction area of ??the resort was made in July of this year.

Butrint is concreted/ Rama doubles the "tiny spot" of Kumbaro, adds 18

According to the map consulted by Kapital, KKTU has decided to increase the construction area both above ground and underground. The construction area above ground has been increased by more than 10 thousand square meters, while the remaining part of the increase comes from the increase in underground areas.

The nearly twofold increase in construction area increases the concrete poured into Albania's most important park. The land use efficiency for construction in this resort has increased from 20 percent to 32 percent, while the construction intensity from 0.4 to 0.6.

Monastery Resort

The Monastery Resort is a controversial project being built by Idajet Ismailaj's Alb Star company. To pave the way for the construction of this resort, the government reduced the protected area of ??the Butrint National Park by 800 hectares, through a secret decision.

Butrint is concreted/ Rama doubles the "tiny spot" of Kumbaro, adds 18

The 800-hectare area, part of which houses the "Manastiri Resort", was included in the Butrint Park area since 2005 and enjoyed protected status in category "B", where intensive construction developments were not allowed.

The "Manastiri Resort" project gained strategic investment status at the end of 2021 with a decision of the Strategic Investment Committee headed by Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Butrint is concreted/ Rama doubles the "tiny spot" of Kumbaro, adds 18

The issue turned into a major scandal, causing debates in Parliament. Faced with opposition accusations of corruption and destruction of the national park, the Minister of Culture, Mirela Kumbaro, called the part that would be separated from Butrint Park, to be turned into a private resort through a "strategic investment", a "small speck".

Now, Monastery Beach, that "tiny spot" has been transformed into a mass of concrete villas, which have completely blocked vacationers' access to one of the most beautiful bays of the Albanian Riviera.

UNESCO alarmed

Earlier this year, Citizens Channel published a UNESCO-ICOMOS report, which criticized with "deep concern" the shrinking of Butrint National Park.

Referring to the presentation of the maps included in this report, this area starts from Ksamil and extends to the Bay of Manastir, which Minister Mirela Kumbaroi refers to as a "tiny dot".

Butrint is concreted/ Rama doubles the "tiny spot" of Kumbaro, adds 18

"There is a situation where the buffer zone of the World Heritage National Park now includes a large tourist resort," the report raises concerns.

Considering it a "pragmatic approach", the Ministry of Culture itself justified itself before the UNESCO monitoring group that "it is sacrificing this small part of the coastline, approximately 100-150 ha, but it would cement the further expansion of urbanization, thus preserving 9,000 ha of the national park".

It refers to the period October 26 - 28, 2023 and contains criticism of the method of administration and changes to the boundaries of the Butrint National Park.

Citizens Channel obtained the report from the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, while UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) told Citizens that reports from advisory missions can only be shared publicly with the agreement of the states, interested parties.

"This shows a lack of awareness on the part of the authorities about the protective function of the buffer zone," the report criticizes the January 2022 decision to reduce the area.

The buffer zone of any world heritage site is a buffer space surrounding the protected area, and as such there are legal restrictions on its use and development.

The removal of this 800 ha area from the National Park has not been announced to the World Heritage Centre. The shrinkage of area B symbolizes a change in the buffer zone protection system, which is now outside the National Park to be filled with massive concrete. / Kapitali.al

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