Country: Albania
Client: Government of Albania Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy
Financing Agency: International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Years: 2006-2007

Detailed Narrative Description of the Project:
The IFC has been appointed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy to act as the lead advisor in strengthening the institutional capacity with regard to concessions. Specifically, the IFC is building capacity of the relevant administrative body in charge of concession type projects in Albania to enable it to oversee competitive and transparent transactions.

The services shall be provided by the IFC through its own staff, along with consultants specialised in various areas of expertise. A legal consultant has been appointed by the IFC to conduct a legal audit of the Albanian concession-related legislation and to propose amendments to the current legislative framework.

ECORYS has been appointed to provide support in the establishment of a concession unit.

Description of Services provided by ECORYS:
Components of the consultancy services provided by ECORYS included:

• Providing an overview of best international practices in institutional settings of concession or PPP units;
• Assessing the government’s objectives regarding concessions and PPP and the current administrative capacity to achieve the objectives;
• Reviewing the draft concession law and supporting by laws;
• Formulating recommendations for an appropriate organisational structure and institutional embedding;
• Preparing an operations manual for concession;
• Providing training on concession and PPP (training was evaluated by the participants with an overall score of 10).