The Rome prefect's department has published notification of the tenders for three Italian migrant centres in Albania under an agreement reached by Rome and Tirana last year.

The notice referred to two migrant hotspots and a centre to hold migrants awaiting repatriation for a total expenditure of almost 34 million euro a year. It said the centres would be operational by May 20.

The agreement, signed by Premier Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama in Rome in November, provides for the reception and processing of up to 3,000 migrants and refugees rescued by Italian ships per month.

People with special needs such as the elderly, children or pregnant women, migrants and refugees who have been rescued by NGO-run ships and people who land directly on Italian soil are to be excluded from the deal. Since taking office in autumn 2022 the Meloni government has been reaching out to third countries in a bid to stem irregular migration by sea to Italy, which in 2023 rose by around 50% over the previous year.

The Italian opposition has slammed the Albania deal as creating a new Guantanamo and allegedly breaching the Italian Constitution, charges the government rejects. The Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) and the Council of Europe have also criticized the agreement. Some other EU countries have said it is a model that could be emulated.