Albania's energy regulator said it has licensed the concessionaire of Kukes airport, Global Technical Mechanics, to act as producer and trader in electricity from a 12 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near the airport.

Global Technical Mechanics has been granted a 25-year power generation license and a five-year supply license for the PV plant, the regulator said in a LinkedIn post on Monday.

The government awarded the Global Technical Mechanics-Bami consortium a concession contract for the airport in 2019.

The construction of Kukes International Airport Zayed was financed by a United Arab Emirates-based company, Emaar Properties. The airport operated its first flight in April 2021, and it is expected to close in 2023 following the withdrawal of Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air.