For 8 years, the government spent 2 billion euros on roads, but there are fewer kilometers

The Government of Albania has spent 213 billion ALL (2 billion euros) on road infrastructure from 2014 to 2022, INSTAT reported, but more detailed data from investment projects show that work on the main infrastructure facilities still continues.

INSTAT data show that during 2022, about 24 billion ALL were invested for the construction of new and existing roads, with a decrease of about 26 percent compared to 2022. But since 2014, more than 2 billion euros have been invested, which are fragmented into projects for which the construction passed more than a decade.

Data from the Ministry of Finance and that of infrastructure show that major investment projects such as the Great Ring of Tirana, Rruga e Arbri, Rruga e Kombit, Qukës-qafë-Plloçë, Kardhiq-Delvinë, have entered the second decade of financing and the works have not yet been completed.

The extension in time of the projects, in addition to creating costs from not fully using the investment, is affecting the amortization of the parts that have been completed, thus requiring additional funding year after year.

INSTAT reported that in 2022 the country had 3,606 kilometers of roads in total from 3,848 in 2014.

From 2014 to the end of 2022, the government of Albania, through the state budget, has injected 1.1 trillion lek (9.7 billion euros) into the country's economy in the form of capital investments and operating expenses, referring to the official data of the Ministry of Finance.

These two items, according to the definitions of the International Monetary Fund, represent the investments that the state makes in the economy, building and maintaining the physical or technological assets that develop the economy.

Yes, according to the IMF, the way to measure more accurately if the government is spending properly is the results they bring, e.g. income per capita of the population, improvement of health, education systems, road infrastructure, drinking water at low cost, etc. The IMF advises that governments with their budgets are a major operator in the economy and through capital investments influence the country's economic growth.

For example, from 2014 to 2022, the government has injected into the economy, through operational and capital investments, over 9.7 billion euros, but the GDP of the country has increased during this period by only 3.4 billion euros, while the public debt, on the other hand , has increased by 3 billion euros./ Monitor