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The reason for the delay on the decision is attributed to the Italian company conducting the auditing process which has not yet submitted the final report to the bids evaluating commission. "This is the reason why the bids evaluating commission for this privatization has not submitted its decision to the government," according to Vasil Pano, Director of Privatizations Department at the Ministry of Economy.

"The two weeks deadline declared at the opening for the evaluation of the bids and the submission of our decision to the government is not legally binding" Vasil Pano said.

The Italian auditing company IMI will profit 1.5 % from the sale price of Albtelecom, keeping in mind that the Turkish bid is at EUR120 million.

The privatization of Albtelecom has been accompanied by fierce debates pro and against it. The IMF as well as the EBRD country representative have expressed their support for this process. "We are glad that after such a long period of time the privatization process of Albtelecom has reached the current phase. The privatization of this important enterprise will benefit Albania through new investments, which is a characteristic of the private sector", said Murat Yildram, EBRD country representative during a meeting with the Minister of Economy Anastas Angjeli.

Meanwhile, former vice-Minister of Economy, Ilir Ciko, said that the way Albtelecom is being privatized is "shameful". "The balance sheet for 2004 shows that even if the ‘status quo’ were to being maintained, meaning, if we were to keep the same profit norm without making any investments or introducing the third mobile operator, the privatization value of Albtelecom could be paid off for a seven year period. However, keeping in mind the investments made and the profit norm from previous privatizations in this sector, then these profit indicators could easily provide for a shorter pay off period for such a company," according to Mr. Ciko.

The Democratic Party and the National Development Movement party have also objected the privatization process for Albtelecom.

Total assets for Albtelecom are estimated at EUR1.2 billion, with a yearly turn-over of Lek12.5 billion. Shareholders equity is estimated at EUR135 million. Current number of clients is estimated at 230,000 with a market potential of 600,000 to 800,000. The third mobile operator license is another highly valued asset of Albtelecom.