During an interpellation in the Parliament of Albania between the deputy Ms. Jorida Tabaku and the Minister of Tourism and Environment Ms. Mirela Kumbaro, about the construction of the Vlora Airport inside the Vjosë – Nartë Protected Landscape, the Minister herself declared that the airport is being constructed within the protected area.
Before this statement, the concerns of civil society organizations on the issue have been denied by the machinery of propaganda of the current government, which has constantly declared that the airport is being constructed outside the protected area and, furthermore, that it is following every EU directive on nature conservation.
During the interpellation, the Minister stated that the construction area has been removed from the national network of protected areas. This statement is clearly a lie, since there is not a legal document which can support it. Even if it wasn’t a lie, the construction of the airport at that specific site threatens the nature values of the whole protected area, leading to a destructive impact towards the biodiversity of the Vjosë-Nartë Protected Landscape.
