The government is determined to move forward with the TID project, which has sparked strong protests from affected residents. Prime Minister Edi Rama stated in the “Flasim” podcast that the TID project is not a project that was born recently, but is long-standing and will be implemented.
He emphasized that the law on cultural heritage obliges the state to intervene against degradation in cultural heritage areas. Rama further emphasized that residents will be expropriated.
"The project to revitalize the historic heart of Durrës is being accompanied by endless misinterpretations and misinformation, while its realization is strategic in nature for the future of the old Mediterranean city and of European Albania as an important tourist destination in the Mediterranean."
Archaeological Zone A, where the project will take place, is not an ordinary urban space and any property debate over that area should not deviate from the framework of the fundamental fact: That area is the property of our national heritage treasure and part of world heritage.
The Roman Amphitheater, the Byzantine Forum, the Roman Baths are monuments of European civilization, not simply monuments of our national heritage register. The objective of including this area in the UNESCO World Heritage List takes this project beyond the national dimension. It makes it an international obligation.
This project was not born today nor did it take shape in the dark, but was based on a long-standing program of this government for that area, as well as an Integrated Management Plan, drafted by the Ministry of Culture and put out for public consultation in 2022.
The Law on Cultural Heritage obliges the state to intervene against degradation or informal construction in cultural heritage areas. This is exactly what we are doing.
International history shows that no country has discovered, conserved and highlighted heritage of this magnitude without undertaking expropriations. In Rome, thousands upon thousands of properties were expropriated for the opening of the Imperial Forums. In Athens, massive expropriations were carried out for the area around the Acropolis and the creation of the archaeological park.
"We will do exactly this, with sensitivity and justice towards the residents, but with determination towards the national interest," said Rama.
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