The intervention to demolish the kiosks and restore greenery to Rinia Park was one of the most well-known successes of Edi Rama's first term as mayor of Tirana.
The replacement of kiosks and concrete with trees and public squares open to citizens, which would later be called the Urban Renaissance, and would affect every city in the country, were the beginnings of building a long political career for the painter turned politician by chance.
However, today, after 26 years, it is Prime Minister Rama again who has paved the way for a private construction of over 25 floors in the heart of Rinia Park.
Tirana Fountain Plaza
On October 1, 2026, the government presented the international competition "Tirana Fountain Plaza" for the development of the area where the "Taiwan" complex is located.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, the competition was "requested by the state, at the initiative of private enterprise," while five international studios submitted their proposals for the development of the area.
The winner was announced as the Danish studio BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), with a project that envisages a building about 78 meters high, raised on columns, with offices, a hotel and private apartments, as well as about three underground levels for parking and logistics.
The proposed height raises questions about the urban planning parameters that apply to this plot. Faktoje has previously reported on construction in the center of Tirana where the height foreseen by the General Local Plan is 9 floors and this project seems to exceed this parameter.
Furthermore, the project will be developed in an area that also enjoys special protection status. Rinia Park has been listed as a Category II Cultural Monument since 2007.
BIG
BIG is not a new name in large projects in the capital. The studio is also the designer of the new National Theater. On BIG's official website, the project appears with the status "In Construction", with a size of 8,000 m², and the client is the company "Fusha LLC".
The public tender for Phase I was won by the AGI KONS-BE-IS consortium, worth 2.2 billion lek excluding VAT. AGI KONS is the same company that won the main tender for the rehabilitation of Rinia Park in 2019.
The project comes at a time when the intensive development of construction in the center of Tirana has raised debate for years about the relationship between new construction and public and green spaces, an issue previously documented by Faktoje.
How much public money has been invested in the Youth Park before the next transformation?
From the kiosks of the '90s to the rehabilitation of 2000
The Youth Park has gone through several stages of transformation even before its 2019 rehabilitation.
Bashkia e Tiranës dhe Agjencia e Parqeve dhe Rekreacionit e lidhin konceptimin e kësaj hapësire me planet urbanistike të viteve 1930, ndërsa pyllëzimi i parkut u krye në vitin 1949.
Pas vitit 1991, parku u mbush me ndërtime informale, kryesisht kioska, bare dhe restorante. Sipas Agjencisë së Parqeve dhe Rekreacionit, gjatë pastrimit të zonës në vitin 2000 u shembën 130 objekte dhe u hoqën mbi 45 mijë metra kub mbetje, ndërsa parku u rehabilitua.
Në fillim të viteve 2000 mori formë edhe kompleksi “Tajvani” që njohim sot. Shoqëria TAIWAN sh.p.k., e cila lidhet me kompleksin dhe më pas me koncesionin e parkimit, figuron e themeluar në maj 2001.
Parkimi nëntokësor, një histori që mbetet pezull
Në vitin 2008, Këshilli Bashkiak i Tiranës miratoi formën e dhënies me koncesion të dy parkimeve nëntokësore në qytet. Më pas u zhvillua procedura për Parkun Rinia dhe më 26 prill 2016 u nënshkrua kontrata e koncesionit mes Bashkisë Tiranë dhe shoqërisë “T A I W A N”.
Për zbatimin e kontratës u krijua shoqëria koncesionare Tirana Parking, e themeluar në maj 2016. Objekti i saj përfshin projektimin, financimin, ndërtimin, operimin dhe mirëmbajtjen e një parkimi nëntokësor në Parkun Rinia, si dhe transferimin e tij te Bashkia në përfundim të afatit të koncesionit.
Dokumentacioni i koncesionit parashikonte një investim rreth 1.97 miliardë lekë dhe një parkim me 1,342 vende dhe kohëzgjatje prej 35 vjetësh. Faktoje verifikoi në qershor 2020 se rehabilitimi i Parkut Rinia kishte përfunduar pa parkimin nëntokësor që ishte premtuar më herët nga zyrtarët e Bashkisë.
2018: projekti i ri për rehabilitimin e parkut
Në vitin 2018, Bashkia Tiranë zhvilloi procedurën “Studim projektim për objektin ‘Rehabilitimi i Parkut Rinia’”.
Fitues u shpall bashkimi SON Engineering & Construction-A&E Engineering. Kontrata u lidh për 3,492,480 lekë me TVSH.
Ky projektim i hapi rrugë tenderit shumë më të madh të vitit pasardhës.
2019: rreth 100 milionë lekë për rehabilitimin
Më 30 prill 2019, Bashkia Tiranë shpalli tenderin për “Rehabilitimin e Parkut Rinia”.
Në procedurë morën pjesë tetë operatorë ekonomikë. Fitues u shpall AGI KONS. Kontrata u lidh më 10 korrik 2019 për 94,446,931 lekë me TVSH.
Open Procurement e ka shënuar procedurën me “flamur të kuq”, pasi operatorët e tjerë konkurrues, përfshirë ofertën me vlerën më të ulët, u skualifikuan.
Përveç punimeve, Bashkia zhvilloi edhe procedurën e mbikëqyrjes.
Për lotin “Mbikëqyrja e punimeve për objektin Rehabilitimi i Parkut Rinia”, fitues u shpall INFRATECH, me ofertë 1,626,365 lekë pa TVSH.
Parku u hap për publikun më 1 qershor 2020. Faktoje konstatoi atëherë se parkimi nëntokësor i premtuar nuk ishte realizuar.
Vetëm dy vjet më vonë, ndërhyrje të reja
Investimi i vitit 2019 nuk e mbylli faturën e Parkut Rinia.
Në qershor 2022, Agjencia e Parqeve dhe Rekreacionit hapi tenderin “Rehabilitimi i Shtresave të Lodrave tek Parku Rinia”.
Only one bidder participated in the procedure: the Nexhmedin Sadiku-ED KONSTRUKSION joint venture. The contract was concluded for 4,935,232 lek including VAT. Open Procurement marks the procedure with a “red flag” for lack of competition.
For the supervision of these works, MAK Studio was announced the winner, with a contract of 102,984 lek including VAT.
Also in 2022, the Parks and Recreation Agency held the tender for the "Irrigation System in Rinia Park". The winner was announced as "Gjelbërimi 2000", with a contract value of 4,790,220 lek including VAT.
There was only one bidder in the competition and the procedure was marked with a red flag for lack of competition. NOVATECH STUDIO was declared the winner for the supervision of the irrigation system, with a contract of 120,000 lek excluding VAT.
How much is the bill?
Excluding the underground parking concession, the documented interventions for the period 2018-2022 amount to at least:
For the new "Tirana Fountain Plaza" project, some unpublished data still remains: the investment value, the total construction area, the exact footprint of the new building, and the ratio between private property and public space that will be affected by the intervention.
It also remains to be clarified the current status of the 2016 underground parking concession and whether it has any legal, property or financial connection with the new project. /Taken from faktoje.al
