Klodian Tomorri
In March of this year, just a month and a half before the elections, Edi Rama went to Elbasan together with his Minister of Economy, Blendi Gonxhe, and the Minister of Local Government, Arbjan Mazniku. The purpose of the visit was to present the final project of the Auto Moto Park, which is being built in Krastë, Elbasan.
The head of government told Albanians that this investment is not simply a racing circuit, but a new engine that will be put into the Albanian economy and that will generate benefits of several kinds.
"The ambition is for Albania 2030 to be the host country of the Formula 1 race, something unthinkable a short time ago. Our model is centered in Vienna, but with the F1 technical team, the studio selected from the international competition has worked, a project has been built that is innovative within the F1 circuit family for a number of solutions," said Rama.
But what the prime minister didn't tell the Albanians was the calculation of how much the Elbasan racetrack would cost them. And what the government doesn't tell, its letters show.
At the last meeting, the Council of Ministers approved the document of Priority Policies 2026-2028. Part of it is also the Unique List of Projects of National Importance. On this list, at number 21, is the Elbasan Auto Moto Park project.
According to the document, the total cost for the construction of the Auto Moto Park is a whopping 188.5 million euros. A stratospheric cost for the construction of a 4.4 kilometer long track.
Justifications
Justifying such a large cost for a whim of Edi Rama and Blendi Gonxha at the time he was director of Road Transport Services is not easy even for a government with a perfect propaganda machine.
Spending 200 million euros on a racetrack, in a country with high levels of poverty and minimal income, requires great courage. So the government is embracing the fact that this is not just a track, but a major investment that will generate the economy.
"I want to emphasize that this is not about making an investment for a race, but about installing a new engine in the Albanian economy. This project is an economy, it is not a car race. It is an economy that is worthy of the 360 days of the year," Rama said.
Blendi Gonxhja says this track will be a huge advertisement for Albania by boosting tourism. "This puts Albania on the global map of 1 billion fans who follow various car and motorcycle racing sports," he said.
So, the 200 million euro runway will bring tourists from all over the world to the Elbasan Coast, who will spend a lot of money, enriching not only Elbasan, but all of Albania.
But until the tourists of Krasta arrive, Albanians will have to dry up for water, as they are drying up in three-quarters of Albania, as well as face their rotten health system and the miserable level of almost all vital services every day. Albania burns, but Rama and Gonxha rise.
The Auto Moto Park project
is a project that extends over an area of 50 hectares along the Shkumbin River. This investment foresees the construction of a 4.4 kilometer long car racing track and in addition to it, it will contain the National Road Safety Academy, the Retro Museum and the Academy of Restoration of Historical Vehicles.
Designed by the Austrian company “Test & Training International” GmbH, this project has so far cost tens of millions of euros in tenders conducted by the Albanian Development Fund. The money is mainly financed by the Directorate of Road Transport Services, but also directly by the government through the budget.
In short, Auto Moto Park was the solution for the Directorate of Road Transport Services to never pour into the state budget the huge profits it makes from the fees it collects from Albanians. But not only that.
Editorial
