In his remarks, Veliaj said that the territorial reform paved the way for the rapid development of the former municipalities that surround Tirana and that today they have caught up with the city in terms of quality.

“Before the administrative reform, the villages of Tirana were like everything else: forgotten, neglected, under invested, underserved, without any form of urban planning, while their governance and administration was divided as party strongholds, once left, once right. It is a fact that a former commune, without the territorial reform, would need 33 years to cover the cost of building a school, maybe more years to cover the cost of a new road or bridge. This explains why for us rural development turned very quickly into a daily mission of the new Tirana, enlarged as a metropolitan area,” he underlined.

“Today, the administrative reform has turned out to be a success in infrastructure, in increasing the quality of services and production, in increasing the value of property even in the countryside and in the possibility of development planning through the connection with the urban spaces of the rural spaces. We restored dignity to the surroundings of Tirana with investments in infrastructure and services,” underlined Veliaj.

The mayor listed some of the changes that have taken shape in areas that were previously underinvested.

“More specifically, we refurbished over 30 km of roads in each direction of Tirana, as well as built new roads that connect with Zall-Herri, with Krraba, or with Zall-Bastar. Meanwhile, we have added 9 new lines of suburban transport, urban transport. We built 7 new bridges connecting rural areas, as well as cleaned up 114 kilometers of drainage canals and 81 kilometers of irrigation ditches. Meanwhile, we built and rehabilitated 18 centers in rural administrative units, as well as revitalized the centers of the villages of Baldushk and Zall-Bastar. We offered and continue to offer daily a quality cleaning service, which did not happen before. That is why today I am proud of what we have achieved in the village, especially with nurseries, kindergartens and schools, comparable to those in urban Tirana. I remind you that only in the village or former municipality of Peza there are four new schools”, stated Veliaj.

According to him, all these investments propelled agritourism into development.

“We found 12 events in 2015, while today they have grown to 77 ones. Today, there are festivals such as the turkey fair in Baldushk, the one for the late tomato in Shëngjergj, the one for the olive in Ndroq or the one for the wine in Farkë, which promote “Made in Albania” and “Made in Tirana” products, especially in the countryside. , he said.
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