PRESS RELEASE
Note to public: On the Reconstruction of the former Hotel Dajti building

In recent days, some media have published untrue news on the reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti building. Related to this issue, the Bank of Albania would like to inform the public on the following:

• Purchasing of 'former Hotel Dajti'

Pursuant to the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 345, dated 12.05.2010 'On the sale of the immovable state property of former Hotel Dajti, the Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania, by Decision No.40, dated 16.06.2010 approved the Direct Procurement Procedure 'On the purchasing the immovable state property former Hotel Dajti by the Bank of Albania', at the amount of EUR 30 million'.

This immovable property was purchased and the ownership title was registered for the Bank of Albania at the Immovable Property Registration Office.

• Project on the reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti

The Supervisory Council of the Bank of Albania approved by Decision No.55 dated 27.07.2011, the 'Special Procedure for the realisation of reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti building'. This procedure was realised also during 2011 and was finalised upon the signing of the contract with Architect Marco Petreschi.

The project design architect was selected by considering also the experience with the reconstruction of the Bank of Albanian Head Offices, where the project for this building by Architect Petreschi was awarded as the winner of the international competition.

• Budget on the works for the reconstruction

Funds for the reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti building, for the first time, are approved by the Decision of the Supervisory Council No. 86, dated 28.12.2011 'On the Approval of the Budget of the Bank of Albania for the year 2012', at the amount around EUR 16 million on the ground of the project implementation presented by the project design architect and controlled and accepted by the Bank of Albania.

During 2013, this fund was increased due to the changes in the technical project that reflected the current technical situation of the object's structure. Following this revision, the final limit fund on the works for the reconstruction, amounting to EUR 18 billion (the equivalent in ALL) was approved by the Supervisory Council with the Decision No. 38, dated 29.05.2013 'On the approval of medium-term budget of the Bank of Albania'.

Due to the fact that the fund had been approved earlier, in 2015, the Supervisory Council approved with Decision No. 27, dated 01.04.2015 only the contract duration, up to three years, for the implementation of the reconstruction.

• Approval of permits for the reconstruction project

On 30 January 2015, the project was submitted to the Institute of Monuments of Culture of Albania, which replied on the Bank of Albania's project in June of the same year. The next step was obtaining the approval by the National Council of Restorations, a legal obligation for the reconstruction of objects classified as cultural monuments.

Then the Bank of Albania proceeded with the application at the National Council of Territory [Planning] through the Ministry of Culture. Upon the completion of the procedures to receive the permit and the official notification by the relevant authorities, at the end of July 2016, after receiving the information about the obligation to pay the tax for the impact on infrastructure, the Bank of Albania made all the relevant payments to the Municipality of Tirana.

• Procedures on the selection of the implementing company

In the period August - September 2016, the Bank of Albania compiled the technical specifications on the procurement procedure of the reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti building, according to the project as accepted by Bank of Albania since 2013 and approved by the National Council of Territory.

To guarantee a qualitative and efficient process, the Bank of Albania, in October 2016 published on the 'Financial Times' the announcement on expression of interest for the reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti building. The waiting period for the expression of interest was 30 days from the publication.

In response to this announcement, 10 companies expressed their interest to participate in the tender.

Due to the importance of this building, and its technical and architectural features, the Bank of Albania analysed the companies that expressed their interest for the purpose to assess their credibility in the market, the technical capacities and similar works performed previously. At the end, it was decided to proceed with the 'International Restricted Tender' procedure, in full accordance with the Regulation 'On the procurement procedures of the Bank of Albania' approved with the Decision of Supervisory Council No.81, dated 15.11.2006, as amended. The Bank of Albania procures services and goods in accordance with stipulations of this Regulation, and not based on the Public Procurement Law, pursuant to provisions of Article 76 of the Law No. 8269, dated 23.12.1997 'On the Bank of Albania', as amended.

To ensure the quality of the process and an efficient result for the Bank of Albania, seven foreign companies were invited to participate in the tender.

The 'International Restricted Tender' procedure was implemented by the Bank of Albania also for the reconstruction of its main building. The contracted fund for the core contract and its additions for the reconstruction of the central building of the Bank of Albania amounted to EUR 15.8 million. Meanwhile, the international competition was implemented by the Bank of Albania only for the selection of the reconstruction project and not for the reconstruction works.

Upon the request of the administrators of the Bank of Albania, during 2015-2016, all costs were reviewed, including those for the implementation of the approved project for the reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti building, aiming at minimising them. At the end, the fund, with which the procurement procedures were opened was reduced at EUR 16 million from EUR 18 million (equivalent in ALL) that was projected according the respective decisions of the Supervisory Council.

Then, all the procurement procedures on the procurement object 'Reconstruction of former Hotel Dajti building' were followed. This procedure will be completed with the signing of the contract between the parties.

• Transparency and accountability of the Bank of Albania

We would like to bring to the attention of the public that any procedure and decision of the Supervisory Council is taken in full accordance with the Law on the Bank of Albania and relevant by-laws in force. The activity of the Supervisory Council and the institutional activity of the Bank of Albania are subject to accountability to the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, the State Supreme Audit Institution of Albania, the Auditing Committee which is headed by non-executive members of the Supervisory Council, and the Inspector General.

The Bank of Albania ensures the public that it is and remains committed to guarantee the transparency to the public, in full accordance with the legislation of Albania and the international standards.