Austrians to Build Albania's New Parliament

Plans to build a new parliament for Albania have advanced, after a jury announced the name of the winning firm tasked with building the complex.

The new assembly will be built on the site of the former pyramid-shaped mausoleum of Albania’s Stalinist dictator Enver Hoxha, which for the last two decades has served as a cultural centre.

"There has been a thorough discussion of the urban and architectural qualities, including sustainability, projected costs and the proper representation of Albania’s democracy at the centre of the capital," the chairman of the jury, Johhanes Ibeliengs, said, announcing the winning bid.

Twelve international architectural firms took part in the competition.

Although the government previously said it planned to spend up to 40 million euro on the new assembly, the costs of the project designed by Austrian architect Wolf D Prix remain unclear.

Prix's architectural firm is known for its bravura designs and complex forms - but also for repeated cost overruns in their projects.

This was the second competition held for a new parliamentary building in as many years. After the first project was discarded, the government spent nearly a million euro in August on renovating the current assembly.

Three months later, in November 2010, Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced that the government would tear down the Tirana pyramid and build a the new home for parliament there.

The proposal has provoked fierce debate, as the government has already spent 2 million euro on transforming the pyramid into a national theatre.