Every year, the Albanian state pours between 5% and 7% of GDP into infrastructure \u2014 a level that appears impressive and stands above the average of countries in the region. Millions of euros go toward roads, schools, water networks, drainage systems, and urban and tourism development projects. But if you look at the roads left unfinished, the projects launched with fanfare and forgotten after a few years, or the costs that keep inflating endlessly, you realize that something is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new in-depth study by ALTAX Observatory, based on the analysis of more than 350\u2013400 real projects, reveals a bitter reality: Albania does not suffer from a lack of money, but from a systemic execution crisis<\/strong> that costs the economy and citizens on average 0.8 to 1.4% of GDP every year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does the reality on the ground show?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The project completion rate (Finish Rate)<\/strong> is dramatically low: only 5\u20138%<\/strong>. This means that only one out of fourteen projects manages to be completed on time and fully put into public service. Most of them are delayed by an average of 2.5 to 5 years<\/strong>, while costs increase on average by 25\u201340%<\/strong> (and up to 60%<\/strong> in some urban and tourism projects).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another major problem is overprogramming<\/strong>. In the 2027\u20132029 Priority Policy Document, the project portfolio reaches a value of 14.83 billion euros<\/strong>, while the country\u2019s real fiscal capacity is only 8.3 billion euros<\/strong> \u2014 that is, 2.25 times more than what we can realistically afford<\/strong>. Only 36%<\/strong> of these projects are fully ready (matured). Furthermore, 73% of the projects have recorded no status change between the two planning documents<\/strong> \u2014 remaining stuck on paper for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n