FLASH NEWS
How billions of euros in investments are being sabotaged by corruption and government officials' personal troubles with justice
2026-02-26 19:36:52 / POLITIKË
In November 2024, the Albanian government and the Arab state-owned energy company, Masdar, signed an agreement in Baku, Azerbaijan, to build massive renewable energy sources. The agreement stipulated that the Arab giant would build sources with a capacity of up to 3 gigawatts in Albania, mainly solar and wind power plants.
For the Albanian side, the agreement was signed by the former director of KESH, Erald Elezi, while for the Arab company, the signature was signed by its CEO, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi. Also present at the signing ceremony were Prime Minister Edi Rama, the suspended Minister of Energy, Belinda Balluku, and the Arab Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Sultan Al Jaber.
Agreement signed in November 2024
Masdar is heavy artillery, no joke. The Arab company currently has a portfolio of 65 gigawatts of energy resources worldwide, and their entry into Albania was some of the best news for the Albanian economy. Not only because Masdar was coming, but also because of the formula of how the company was entering Albania.
According to the agreement, the power plants would be built with Masdar's money. The Albanian state would provide the land and in return would receive 49 percent of the ownership. In the history of Albanian energy agreements, this was undoubtedly the most profitable for the citizens and the state, by a large margin from any other business before.
To date, the most advantageous agreement in this sector for Albania is the Karavasta solar park with an installed capacity of 140 megawatts. In the case of the agreement with the French Voltalias, the state offered the land for free and in return received the right to purchase half of the energy produced by the plant at a favorable price of 24.89 euros per megawatt. But the agreement with Masdar is on another level, as the state receives half of the energy for free and without investing a single lek in the construction of the plants.
But good things in Albania are not allowed to happen. Two of the three present at the signing ceremony of the agreement with Masdar, the former director of KESH, Elezi and Belinda Balluku are now either arrested or suspended and in an attempt to be arrested. The third, Prime Minister Edi Rama, is heavily invested in a battle to protect the government and himself from SPAK and the justice system. As a result, the business with Masdar has remained on paper.
The first project selected to be built within the framework of the cooperation between KESH and Masdar is a solar power plant in Tragjas, Vlora. The photovoltaic park is expected to have an installed capacity of 100 megawatts and KESH will have a 49 percent stake.
But construction has not started, as KESH is delaying the creation of a joint venture with Masdar, which will build the power plant. The same situation is occurring with the second investment, the construction of a floating solar power plant in one of the lakes of Belsh. This one is also expected to have an installed capacity of 100 megawatts, but again the problem is the delay at KESH.
Masdar has a huge investment plan in the Balkans. Not long ago, the Arab company bought Greece's Terna. In parallel, Masdar has begun building renewable energy sources in Montenegro, although its projects with Montenegro began two years after Albania.
Beyond the resources it is building across the region, Masdar is the company that will build the Albania-Italy underwater transmission line, a project worth 1.1 billion euros, which is in the final stages of the feasibility study and regulatory processes.
But while other countries advance with investment projects, Albania is caught in the trap of government corruption and the battle between the executive and the judiciary. This is costing Albanian citizens dearly by holding billions of euros of projects hostage.
This is a genuine political problem. In KESH, the arrested directors are replaced with others who have their files closed in SPAK and could end up for themselves with a measure. The Ministry of Energy has been taken hostage by the battle between the government and the judiciary. The leadership vacuum in one of the most important departments in the country has practically destroyed the advancement of any energy or infrastructure project.
In the world, this conflict is resolved through the mechanism of resignations, which free institutions and the public interest. While in Albania, institutions and the public interest are held hostage by the fates of individuals and conferences with three conclusions or three resignations that remain tentative.
But this is a game with a heavy price tag on citizens. As billions of euros in investments remain hostage to the prime minister's fight for "human rights" and to prevent anti-corruption from becoming more dangerous than corruption, citizens lose. Masdar is now looking to buy ready-made projects from private individuals.
But there is a very big difference here. The state is completely out of the game and no longer receives half of the energy for free./ Capital
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