The inauguration of two controversial migrant centers managed by Italy in Albania has been delayed as the construction work has not been finished, an Albanian port official said Monday.
Albania is to receive migrants plucked from the sea off Italy at a center at Shengjin on the Adriatic Sea, and then process them at another center inland, under a controversial deal struck with Italy.
Sander Marashi, director of the Shengjin port, told AFP that "there will be no migrants on Monday" because "construction work is ongoing" at the port.
Italian and Albanian authorities have remained tight-lipped about rumored delays.
Last week, Italy's ANSA news agency reported that the delay was caused by setbacks in construction works carried out by Italian companies.
In early May, only about a dozen small prefabricated blocks were installed at the Shengjin port center.
Once finished, the 4,000-square-metre (43,056 square feet) site will be surrounded by four-meter-high walls, according to local authorities.
After registration, the migrants would be taken to Gjader, a former military base some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the port. They would stay there while their asylum applications are handled.
According to a call for tenders published on the website of Italy's interior ministry, operations at the centers were planned to begin "no later than 20 May 2024."
However, the government outlined that, depending on the progress of the work, the centers could initially work with a reduced number of migrants.
Media reports suggest the centers will not be complete until the end of October or the beginning of November.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government had hoped to have the project up and running before the European Parliament elections next month, according to media reports, to bolster her claim to be tough on illegal migration.
The Rome government has declined to officially comment on any delay, but several sources acknowledged to AFP the project was behind schedule.
They blamed in part the extra scrutiny of the deal by Albanian's constitutional court.
Under the accord, Italy will manage and pay for the centers as if they were on Italian soil, at a cost estimated at 650 million to 750 million euros ($815 million) over five years.
The two centers could accommodate up to 3,000 rescued migrants at any one time.
The number of people trying to reach Europe via Italy increased significantly in 2023, according to the Italian interior ministry.
Last year, 157,652 people arrived on the Italian shore compared to 105,131 in 2022.
But numbers have fallen dramatically this year, with fewer than 19,000 arrivals since Jan. 1, compared to 46,600 in the same period last year — but still above the 17,154 in the 2022 period.
The International Organisation for Migration said that more than 3,000 undocumented migrants went missing trying to make the hazardous crossing from North Africa last year.