In many cases, road construction in Kosovo is a process that lasts for years and in the end does not approximate the initial project.

This finding results in a report of the National Audit Office, an office that has audited 11 road projects in Prishtina, Prizren, Ferizaj and Malisheva.

Although it was foreseen that the road Llapqevë – Mirusha Waterfalls in Malisheva, to be completed within 120 days, it turns out that it was not completed even after 1,339 days.

“Regarding the construction of the road Llapqevë – Mirusha Waterfalls, with a length of 3.1 kilometers and a width of 6 meters, the road was not completed yet, until June 2021, when this audit was conducted, although 42 months had passed since the signing of the contract, while it was foreseen to last 120 working days “, it is said in the report published on August 30.

Another road, in this case supported by the Ministry of Infrastructure, which planned to connect the villages of the Municipality of Skenderaj with those of Istog, known as the road Vojnik – Osojan, although started in 2016, has not yet been completed.

This road, 3.6 kilometers long and 6 meters wide, was initially planned to be completed in 155 days.

In this segment of the road, the works had continued until June 2017, when they were stopped indefinitely.

“The reason for this road to be realized only partially were the property problems as this road was a completely new road and it was foreseen that the whole route would pass through private properties, which were not expropriated before the signing of the contract”, the report says.

For 90 days of effective work, it was planned to complete the works on the regional road Rahovec – Suhareka with a length of 12.35 kilometers and a width of 6.8 meters, but they were not completed even after two years.

According to the Auditor’s findings, from the first day of the beginning of the works for the rehabilitation of this road, more than 1,000 calendar days or 33 months had passed and the works had not been completed yet.

The report also mentions some projects that have been delayed and the construction of which has been suspended indefinitely.

Based on the findings of this audit, it results that the construction of local and regional roads is followed by many difficulties, starting from the lack of cost-benefit analysis, inadequate planning of activities, insufficient budgeting, problems with expropriation and problems with the design of major projects as well as uncertainty regarding the reference to road construction standards.

For this reason, the construction of roads has been characterized by delays of up to three years, and some had remained unfinished even five years after their start.

Few fines for companies that violate contracts

Qendrim Arifi, senior researcher at the INPO organization, which monitors the field of public procurement, says that it is difficult to find an infrastructure project in Kosovo which has been carried out according to criteria and in an optimal time frame.

He says that the institutions, both local and central, fail from the very beginning of the tenders and the definition of the criteria.

“Dismissals do not always happen due to ignorance about a certain job or a certain project. “The omissions have their origins in the beginning of the procedure”, says Arifi for Radio Free Europe.

Airifi says that there is a great lack of qualified staff who are responsible persons in the municipalities to decide who is the winner of the contracts and who have the responsibility to monitor the implementation of projects.

You can read it in full: HERE

Delays in the construction of Muharrem Fejza Street in Prishtina have not been caused by KEDS, on the contrary, the latter is a victim in this case, as the infrastructure located there has been damaged, it is said in a press release by this company.

We as a company have timely notified the Municipality of Prishtina that their contractor and the contractor of Termokos are damaging our existing infrastructure, but unfortunately nothing has been done in time. As a result, the damages from these contractors are great, it is said in the explanation.

In the official letter that KEDS had sent to the Municipality of Prishtina on July 2, it had informed him in detail about the case.

“We as a company have asked the municipality that the contractors return the network to its previous state, specifically to supply and install ribbed pipes with the same number as they were and also to rebuild the wells in those places where they are demolished. This request, which is also a legal obligation, as it directly affects the supply of electricity in that part of the capital, had met with deaf ears “, it is further stated in the explanation.

KEDS says that in the framework of investment projects in the region of Prishtina and with special emphasis on the MATIT area, had planned to soon operate the 20 kV outlets from SS Prishtina 7 and Prishtina 2, but the damage to its infrastructure has created irreparable obstacles which will affect the completion of the project and the commitments to remove the entire overhead network along this route.

“This would be very easy and fast, as KEDS had the infrastructure ready and would also install the electricity network in the existing pipes. “Now, KEDS is facing the infrastructure destroyed by irresponsible contractors, which instead of restoring it to its previous state, we are being forced to do, because thousands of consumers need electricity services”, concludes KEDS.

Otherwise, the residents of the street “Muharrem Fejza” with the connecting roads have protested several times due to delays in the works on the condition of the roads. According to the residents, the works that have started for several months now are obstructing the spaces for pedestrians, while people with special needs have remained closed. Residents say that their requests have been addressed to the Municipality several times, but so far they have been left without answer.

Changing the hands of the clock has caused delays in the election process in Presevo. Authorized commissioners in today’s elections have arrived late in the units where they are engaged.

This was confirmed for KosovaPress by the chairman of the Municipal Election Commission, Kenan Kamberi, who says that 90 percent of the polling stations have already been opened.

“Presevo counts 38 polling stations. Some 42 thousand are registered. “There have been no problems so far, we expect the citizens to respect the measures even more”, he says.

He says there have been delays in meeting the Commissioners’ Voting Councils due to the clock change.

“Because the clock was changed, some commissioners, some authorized persons where the voting is held, surely forgot to change the clock or came late. You have a little problem with it, it was fixed ”; says Kamberi.

He adds for KosovaPress that in the extraordinary elections which are being held today in Presevo, over 120 people have been added to the voter lists.

“The list of eligible voters today has increased by 121 people. “Those who have died have been removed from the lists, those who have turned 18 have been added,” he said.

Kamberi has called for respect for measures within polling stations. About 42 thousand citizens have the right to vote today to vote for 38 councilors for the new call of the local parliament.

They were together for the elections, but the Albanians of Presevo in these extraordinary local elections, compete with six different lists. Serbs are in a coalition of eight Serb parties united in the SNS party.