All industrial facilities in Albania to be privatized by 2018: officials

All industrial facilities in Albania will be privatized by 2018 to maximize their value and operations, experts from the Albanian Energy and Industry Ministry said Friday.

According to the Albanian government strategic document on policies for non-food industry sector for 2016-2025, the government aims at rehabilitating the former industrial facilities through a more efficient process of administration.

The remaining assets to be privatized by 2018 will be used for industrial producing activities and other services of economic interest, the strategic document said.

Experts here see this initiative as an attempt of the Albanian government to boost the contribution of the non-food industry in the economy for a long-term period.

According to them, the sector of the non-food industry does not provide the contribution it should give to the economy here due to the lack of the value chain.

On the other hand, document shows that special attention will be paid to the metallurgical sector and especially to copper.

If new investors for the administration of mineral resources, for the copper factory of Rubik and the wire factory of Shkodra (north of Albania) are found, new opportunities for export and employment will open, said the document issued by the Albanian Ministry of Energy.

In countries of the region, non-food industry accounts for 7-8 percent of GDP. Endit