The Italian military vessel Libra with eight refugees on the board is expected to arrive on Albanian shores at around 8am Thursday. The refugees and migrants will be sent first to the reception centre at the Port of Shengjin, and later to the Gjader camp, around 20 kilometres from the port.

The military vessel is on the way, with refugees who arrived in North of Lampedusa.

It was planned that the centres would open in May, but the opening date was postponed to August because of unfinished construction work and then to October 16.

Italy unveiled its plan to send refugees and migrants intercepted by its navy at sea to processing centres in Albania in November last year at a joint press conference held by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.

The scheme has been criticised in both countries by activists and human rights lawyers who question Albania’s capacities to handle the arrangements. But the deal received the green light from Albania’s Constitutional Court in January.

According to the agreement, Italy is covering all the construction and equipment costs.