Municipalities Awash with Tenders, but Project Implementation Remains Weak

Albanian municipalities have historically faced major problems in using public funds, particularly for investments. However, over the past two months, the volume of tenders and procurement procedures has increased significantly ahead of the territorial reform, which is expected to bring another reorganization, and the local elections to be held next year.

Data from the Ministry of Finance show that, in the first half of 2026, local government spending reached 42.2 billion lek, or 15.3% more than in the same period last year.

In June alone, 8.7 billion lek was spent, an amount 20% higher than the actual level recorded last year and 4% above the monthly target.

According to an analysis conducted by the Open Procurement Albania platform, the country’s municipalities announced a total of 1,877 tenders between January and June 2026, with a combined ceiling fund of 24.95 billion lek.

Compared with the same period in 2025, the figures reveal an interesting paradox: while the number of procedures fell slightly, with 35 fewer tenders than the 1,912 procedures recorded in 2025, the total ceiling fund increased by 11.03 billion lek, or 79.2%. In the first half of last year, the ceiling fund made available by local government units was 13.92 billion lek.

However, despite the wave of procurement procedures, investment progress has not been as rapid. Data from the Ministry of Finance show that municipalities carried out around 7.92 billion lek in investments between January and June 2026, from an operational budget of 54.86 billion lek. This translates into an implementation rate of just 14.4%, significantly below the theoretical rate of 50% corresponding to the halfway point of the year.

The greatest concentration of both planned funds and completed investments is in municipalities such as Tirana, Himara, Durrës and Vlora, which together account for around 63.5% of the investment budgets of all municipalities. However, their large share of the budget has not always been accompanied by a high implementation rate.

Tirana carried out around 1.98 billion lek in investments, or one-quarter of the national total. However, against a budget of 17.82 billion lek, its implementation rate was only 11.1%. Kamza ranked second, with 1.14 billion lek in investments. Unlike Tirana, Kamza used around 66% of its 1.73 billion lek budget, recording one of the highest implementation rates.

Himara ranked third, with 703 million lek in investments, but implemented only 8.9% of its 7.89 billion lek budget. Durrës, with a budget of 4.85 billion lek, carried out 308 million lek in investments, or 6.3%.

Lezhë recorded the highest implementation rate among municipalities with investment budgets of more than 10 million lek. By the end of June, it had used 75.7% of its planned funds.

It was followed by Kamza, with 66%, Bulqizë, with 61.3%, Vorë, with 53.2%, and Këlcyrë, with 50.3%. Malësi e Madhe, Fushë-Arrëz, Poliçan and Kukës also recorded relatively high rates.

At the other end of the spectrum, Pukë implemented only 127 thousand lek out of a planned 55 million lek, or 0.2%. Mirditë used 1.7% of its budget, Vlora 4.2%, Korça 5.9% and Durrës 6.3%.

Libohovë reported no completed investments, although its budget under this category was only 370 thousand lek.

Of the 4,586 municipal projects budgeted for this year, 3,634, or around 79.2%, had no recorded expenditure by the end of June.

Projects with zero implementation have a value of around 39.6 billion lek, or 72.2% of the entire investment budget. This shows that the low implementation rate stems not only from the slow progress of active projects, but also from the very large number of projects on which no funds have yet been spent.

The road network is the main area of local investment. Municipalities spent around 3.56 billion lek on this sector, or 45% of total investments.

The budget for roads was around 16.99 billion lek, while the implementation rate reached 21%. Although it remains low, it is higher than the overall average of 14.4%.

Roads were followed by local public services, with 790 million lek in investments, basic education, with 663 million lek, and administration and planning, with 537 million lek. Together, these four areas account for around 70% of completed investments./Monitor