In November of this year, it will be 7 years since the devastating earthquake of 2019. Again, the Reconstruction program continues at a slow pace, even when the funds are there. Of the approximately 5.863 billion lek of funds opened and inherited for municipalities for 2026, by the end of June, only 814.5 million lek had been used, or 14% of the plan. The pace is even lower for the part directly intended for capital investments, where the implementation results in about 7%. The Municipality of Durrës results worst of all local units in the implementation of programmed expenditures.
According to the report of the Ministry of Finance, the fund of 5.863 billion lek includes both the funding planned for 2026 and allocated from the state budget by decisions of the Council of Ministers, as well as funds unused in 2025 and inherited in this year's budget.
The problem is most evident in investments in facilities and infrastructure. Of the 2.530 billion lek planned for capital expenditures, only 186.6 million lek have been realized by the end of the first half of the year, equivalent to about 7.4% of the plan for this category.
Meanwhile, out of the 2.864 billion lek programmed for transfers to families and individuals, 619.4 million lek have been realized. Operating and maintenance expenses were only 8.5 million lek, compared to a fund of 470 million lek.
This structure means that the vast majority of the money spent so far is not related to physical investments. Of the 814.5 million lek realized in total, over 619 million lek or about 76% have gone to transfers, while capital investments account for about 23% of the amount spent.
The differences between municipalities are large. Durrës, although it has over 1 billion lek in planned funds, by the end of June had only realized 15.1 million lek, or 1%. Mirdita is also at the 1% level, with only 895 thousand lek realized out of 92.5 million lek planned.
Tirana, which has the largest reconstruction fund, of 1.858 billion lek, has realized 84.9 million lek or only 5% of the plan. Kamza is at 4%, while Kavaja and Rrogozhina are at 7%.
On the other hand, Kurbini presents the highest level of implementation, with 332.5 million lekë or 49% of the plan. Kruja has implemented 27%, Shijaku 25% and Vora 21%.
The composition of expenditures also varies significantly by municipality. In Kurbin, the entire amount of 332.5 million lek realized until June results as transfers, with no capital investments recorded in the report table. In Tirana, on the contrary, the 84.9 million lek realized is classified entirely as investments. In Durrës, investments were only 6.1 million lek and transfers around 9 million lek.
The Ministry of Finance considers the overall level of 14% as a relatively low financial progress compared to the annual planning. The report highlights the need to accelerate the implementation of projects, certification of works and the realization of payments, with the aim of completing the facilities and interventions foreseen by the Reconstruction Program more quickly. /ekofin.al
