The Minister of Culture Elva Margariti, in an interview in "Opinion" denies that Butrinti is being given with a concession. According to her, this park will be managed by a foundation that will be established by the Albanian state in cooperation with the Albanian-American Foundation.
"(Foundation) It is non-profit and it is not a concession, it is a non-profit organization. "Every penny of Butrint stays in Butrint", said the minister.
But why does not the Albanian state administer it itself, through the way it had by improving the administration?
"This is a way of improving the administration and the Albanian state is managing the site. Since the beginning of this process that we have started to build this model, one of the main criticisms has been the removal of the Ministry of Culture in this foundation. While the Ministry of Culture is not only the chairwoman of the board, but monitors it with a new monitoring center at the ministry, audits it, reports to UNESCO. "The state is within the entire legal framework," said the minister.
Asked by journalist Blendi Fevziu why the Albanian-American Fund was needed in this project, the minister said:
"He is one of the donors. Today, I want everyone to see the Butrint debate and to evoke some enthusiasm and kindness to have other donors. All over the world such models often have the presence of banks, which are leading philanthropists around the world. In Albania we have probably not reached this stage yet. This can be a good first moment for the banks themselves how to become part of philanthropy in Albania. "We are not saying any miracles and we are not inventing the wheel."