Strengthening digital connectivity and the digital transformation of businesses and public services in Albania

This is a restricted EU procurement (tender EC-ENEST/TIA/2026/EA-RP/0057) to procure consultancy services in Albania supporting implementation of the Digital Agenda, Very High Capacity Networks policy work and 5G planning and pilot activities under IPA III. The estimated contract value is €1,400,000 with a maximum duration of 18 months and the procedure is a restricted two-stage tender requiring non-electronic paper submission; deadline for requests to participate is 9 October 2026 at 14:00 Europe/Tirane. Shortlisting will select 4 to 8 candidates and award will be by best price-quality ratio with quality weighted at 80 and price at 20, and bidders must meet financial and technical selection criteria described in the procurement documents. Interested economic operators should consult the full tender documents and templates on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal for submission address, forms and detailed eligibility and evaluation requirements.

Tender snapshot

Essential facts

Service contract to support Albania's Digital Agenda:legal and technical work on very high capacity networks (fibre and 5G), preparation of geographical survey documentation and methodology, drafting secondary legislation aligned with EU rules (including GIA Regulation 2024/1309), 5G technical study and pilot design for smart communities, and stakeholder awareness activities.

Estimated value:€1,400,000 (total estimated contract value). ¹

1. 1Who can apply: natural or legal persons established in EU Member States or eligible IPA III countries, consortia and international/regional organisations; subcontracting allowed.
2. 2Procedure: restricted tender (shortlisting 4 to 8 candidates), submissions by paper only to the Contracting Authority (CFCU, Ministry of Finance, Tirana).
3. 3Contract duration: up to 18 months; award by best price-quality ratio.

Shortlisting and selection:candidates must meet financial, professional and technical selection criteria (minimum average turnover €1,400,000 over last 3 years; specific personnel and experience thresholds); shortlisted candidates will be invited to tender. See procurement documents for full requirements and submission address or apply via the Funding & Tenders Portal Tender page.

Footnotes

1. 1Tender documents and additional information (a5f and request-to-participate form) are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal; consult them for detailed deliverables, selection criteria and submission instructions.

Opportunity type and reference

Tender EC-ENEST/TIA/2026/EA-RP/0057 (TED reference 613852-2026 / 172/2026). Procedure identifier ff049c5f-7507. Main CPV 71316000 Telecommunication consultancy services.

Objective and scope of the contract

Objective:advance implementation of Albania’s Digital Agenda by improving ICT infrastructure and aligning national electronic communications policies with EU objectives. Beneficiaries: the relevant Albanian Ministry and the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP). Core tasks: prepare documentation for a geographical survey and a methodology on Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN) to implement Article 43 of Law no 54/2024 (Electronic Communications Law), ensuring conformity with Article 22 of the EU EECC Directive and EU practice; draft secondary legislation aligned with EU Regulation 2024/1309 on GIA (state aid for broadband) for VHCN deployment (fibre optic and 5G); perform technical studies on 5G use cases for smart communities using EU best practices; design and implement a 5G pilot project; and deliver stakeholder awareness and capacity building on gigabit infrastructure and 5G.

Administrative details and funding

Estimated total value:€1 400 000 (estimated overall contract amount).

Duration:Maximum contract duration 18 months.

Financing:Financed under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III), multiannual Operational Programme on Digital Economy and Society in favour of the Republic of Albania 2024–2027, budget line 15 02 02 01.

Lead contracting authority:General Directorate for Financing and Contracting of European Union (EU), World Bank and Other Donor Funds / Central Finance and Contracting Unit (CFCU), Ministry of Finance, Albania. Contact email: tender_CFCU@financa.gov.al.

Procedure and submission

Procedure type:Restricted procedure (two-stage). Submission method: Non-electronic PAPER submissions only. Requests to participate must be submitted in a sealed envelope to the contracting authority address in Tirana or hand-delivered in return for a signed dated receipt. Electronic submission is not allowed; justification: tools, devices, or file formats not generally available. Language of procedure: English.

Deadlines:Deadline for receipt of requests to participate: 09/10/2026 at 14:00:59 Europe/Tirane (UTC+02:00). TED publication date (notice): 07/09/2026. Provisional invitation to tender (2nd stage): 07/01/2027. Provisional commencement of contract: 17/08/2027.

Eligibility and who may apply

Participation is open to all natural persons (nationals) and legal persons effectively established in an EU Member State or in an eligible country/territory under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 (IPA III). International and regional organisations may participate. Consortia are permitted; consortium members are jointly and severally liable. A candidate may submit only one request to participate (per lot).

Eligible applicant types

Eligible applicant types include:private companies (SMEs and large enterprises), consultancy firms, telecommunication consultancies, law firms and legal advisors, universities and research institutes, nonprofit organisations, international/regional organisations, public bodies and consortiums combining those entities. Individual natural persons may participate if eligible under the IPA III eligibility rules.

Selection and award criteria

Selection will be based on financial, professional and technical capacity checks. Between 4 and 8 candidates will be short-listed and invited to submit detailed tenders. Award criterion: best price-quality ratio (quality 80%, price 20% as per procurement metadata), with full details to be consulted in procurement documents.

1. 1Economic and financial capacity: average annual turnover in the last 3 financial years must be not less than €1,400,000.
2. 2Professional capacity: on average during the current year and previous two years at least 3 personnel directly employed or legally contracted in relevant specialist areas.
3. 3Technical capacity: completion of at least 2 contracts during the last 4 years, each with a value not less than €500,000, in domains such as institutional strengthening/capacity building or legal advisory services for digital connectivity, telecommunications deployment infrastructure or electronic communications.

If more than 8 eligible candidates meet the selection criteria, re-examination will rank candidates using (1) the highest number of qualifying contracts and (2) the highest cumulated value of qualifying contracts as tie-breakers.

Key contractual, administrative and procedural requirements

Nature of contract:services (fee-based). Award method: best price-quality ratio. Sub-contracting is allowed. Options: repetition of similar services up to 30% may be entrusted to the contractor through negotiated procedure without prior notice, provided conformity with the basic project. Electronic ordering and electronic payment will be used during post-award process.

Short-list and tender format:Stage 1: Request to participate must use the provided request to participate form (Annex b3). Include signed declaration on honour on exclusion and selection criteria (form a14a). Financial data and personnel statistics required. Stage 2: Short-listed candidates will be invited to submit full tenders (organisation, methodology, key experts, price).

Requests to participate must be submitted in English and in paper format in a sealed envelope. The outer envelope must be marked Not to be opened before the opening session and include the contract title and publication reference. Postal or hand delivery options are detailed in the a5f additional information document.

Selection form and templates

Required forms available in the procurement documents section:Annex b3 request to participate form (b3_req_part_form_en 0057_V1.pdf) and Annex a5f additional information about the contract notice (a5f_additional_inf_V1.pdf). The b3 form requires: identity of legal entity(ies), contact person, economic and financial data table (turnover, current assets/liabilities), personnel statistics, areas of specialisation (max 10), experience references (up to 15 references), signed declaration on honour and the standard statement confirming intent to tender if short-listed. If relying on capacity-providing entities, a separate commitment document must be provided. Detailed instructions and templates are in the Annexes repository referenced in the procurement documents.

Technical and sector details

Technical focus areas required from bidders:broadband and gigabit infrastructure planning (fibre VHCN), 5G network planning and pilot implementation, smart community 5G use-case analysis, regulatory alignment with EECC and EU Regulation 2024/1309 on GIA, methodology for geographical surveys for network deployment, drafting secondary legislation and preparing documentation to support state aid and financing schemes for VHCN, stakeholder awareness and capacity building for public authorities and relevant stakeholders.

Geographic and programme context

Place of performance and benefitting zone:Albania (country code AL, NUTS Extra-Regio ALZZZ). Programme: Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III) 2021–2027. Legal basis: Regulation (EU) No 2021/1529 (IPA III).

Important dates and contact

1. 1TED publication date: 07/09/2026.
2. 2Deadline for receipt of requests to participate: 09/10/2026 at 14:00:59 Europe/Tirane (UTC+02:00).
3. 3Provisional invitation to tender: 07/01/2027.
4. 4Provisional contract start: 17/08/2027.

Submission address and opening hours for hand-delivery or postal submission are given in the a5f document: General Directorate for Financing and Contracting of EU, World Bank and Other Donor Funds (CFCU), Ministry of Finance, Third floor (CFCU’s protocol office), Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit No. 3, 1001 Tirana, Albania. Opening hours Monday–Thursday 08:00–16:30; Friday 08:00–14:00.

Risk, exclusions and compliance

Grounds for exclusion:standard PRAG exclusion situations apply; candidates must submit signed declarations on honour. Entities listed in EU restrictive measures at the moment of award cannot be awarded the contract. Candidates must declare any foreign financial contributions received (Form FS-PP) where applicable for very large procurement values as specified in guidance. Professional conflicts of interest will be assessed and may lead to exclusion.

How applicants will be evaluated and success factors

Evaluation steps:Stage 1 qualification (requests to participate assessed against selection criteria). Short-listing of 4–8 candidates. Stage 2 invitation to tender for short-listed candidates; tenders evaluated on best price-quality ratio with weighting noted in procurement metadata (quality heavier weight than price). Success depends on proving financial capacity (turnover threshold), relevant personnel and specialisations, and documented track record of eligible contracts meeting the minimum value and thematic relevance.

Success rates:Indicative success rate at the short-list stage: between approximately 12.5% and 25% depending on number of eligible candidates (8 invited: 12.5%; 4 invited: 25%). Final success rate depends on competitiveness at tender stage and number of tenders evaluated.

Co-funding requirement:No specific co-funding from the applicant is required by the procurement notice; this is a fee-based service contract financed under IPA III. Normal financial guarantees and bank details as requested in tender documents may apply.

Documents and where to find them

Procurement documents available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal tender details page and include: b3 request to participate form (b3_req_part_form_en 0057_V1.pdf) and a5f additional information about the Contract Notice (a5f_additional_inf_V1.pdf). All clarifications and Q&A will be published on the portal. Candidates are advised to subscribe to the call for tenders and consult the documents and annexes before submission. Full procurement documents link: Tender documents on Funding & Tenders Portal.

For detailed guidance on completing the request to participate form (Annex b3) and the required declaration on honour, use the templates and instructions provided in the Annexes repository referenced in the procurement documents. The b3 request to participate form is multi-section and requests financial tables, personnel statistics, areas of specialisation, up to 15 experience references, and signed declarations. If relying on capacity-providing entities, separate commitment documentation is required.

Reference material and templates should be consulted in full prior to submission; sample request to participate template and detailed instructions are provided in the procurement pack ¹.

Mentioned countries

Albania (place of performance and contracting authority). Participation eligibility also references EU Member States and eligible partner countries under IPA III (see Regulation (EU) No 2021/1529 and Annex a2a1 of the PRAG for the full list).

Categorisation answers (structured)

1. 1Eligible Applicant Types: private companies (SMEs and large enterprises), consultancy firms, telecommunication consultancies, law firms/legal advisors, universities, research institutes, nonprofits, international/regional organisations, public bodies, consortia and individuals where eligible under IPA III.
2. 2Funding Type: procurement / service contract (fee-based), financed by an EU grant programme (IPA III).
3. 3Consortium Requirement: consortium allowed but not mandatory; consortiums must remain as declared if shortlisted; between 4 and 8 candidates will be invited to tender in stage 2.
4. 4Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): applicants established in EU Member States or eligible countries/territories under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1529 (IPA III); place of performance Albania.
5. 5Target Sector: ICT, telecommunications, digital infrastructure, 5G, broadband/VHCN, digital public services, regulatory/legal advisory, capacity building.
6. 6Mentioned Countries: Albania. Regionally eligibility references EU and IPA-eligible countries under IPA III rules.
7. 7Project Stage: policy/regulatory alignment, technical studies, pilot implementation and capacity-building (development, validation, demonstration/pilot and institutional strengthening phases).
8. 8Funding Amount: estimated overall contract amount €1,400,000.
9. 9Application Type: restricted tender two-stage procedure; first stage request to participate via paper submission (sealed envelope) by the deadline; shortlisted candidates invited to tender (expected 07/01/2027).
10. 10Nature of Support: monetary contract (fee-based payment for services) to a contractor; not a grant to beneficiaries (payment for consultancy/service delivery).
11. 11Application Stages: 2 (stage 1 request to participate and short-listing; stage 2 invited tenders and award).
12. 12Success Rates: indicative short-list success between 12.5% and 25% depending on the number of eligible candidates and shortlist size; final award competitiveness not specified.
13. 13Co-funding Requirement: none specified for applicants; contract is financed under IPA III as a fee-based service contract.

How to prepare a compliant request to participate

Follow the b3 request to participate template exactly. Provide:legal entity identification and nationality; signed declaration on honour (a14a); full financial tables for the last three closed accounting years (turnover, current assets, current liabilities); personnel statistics and description of relevant specialist areas; up to 15 relevant reference projects with documentary evidence proving value and share carried out; any capacity-providing entities commitments in a separate document; statements on no professional conflicts of interest; contact details. Ensure all figures are expressed in EUR and conversions use the InforEuro exchange rate specified in the a5f where applicable.

Concluding summary

This is an EU-funded procurement under IPA III to procure consultancy services to strengthen Albania’s digital connectivity and support national digital agenda implementation. The contractor will prepare regulatory and technical deliverables including VHCN methodologies, geographical survey documentation, secondary legislation aligned with EU Regulation 2024/1309 for GIA, 5G technical studies, design and execution of a 5G pilot for smart communities, and stakeholder capacity building. The estimated contract value is €1.4 million, duration up to 18 months. The restricted two-stage tender requires paper submission of a request to participate by 09/10/2026; 4–8 candidates will be short-listed and invited to submit full tenders. Selection criteria include minimum turnover, staff and demonstrable technical experience with comparable contracts. Award will follow best price-quality ratio. Interested bidders must consult the procurement documents and templates (b3 and a5f), comply with PRAG and IPA III eligibility, provide all required declarations and evidence, and submit proposals in English in the prescribed paper format. For full procurement documents and templates see the Funding & Tenders Portal Tender documents on Funding & Tenders Portal and consult the a5f additional information file for procedural details and submission addresses ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Procurement documents and annexes (b3 and a5f) are published on the tender page of the Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu

This is a restricted EU procurement for consultancy services in Albania, focused on strengthening digital connectivity, implementing Very High Capacity Networks policy work, and supporting 5G related planning and pilot activities for public institutions. The notice is published on the EU Funding and Tenders Portal and referenced in TED, with the opportunity described as part of Albania's Digital Agenda and IPA III support ¹.

What the contract is about

The contract aims to advance implementation of Albania's Digital Agenda by improving ICT infrastructure and aligning electronic communications policies with national and EU objectives. The stated deliverables include preparation of documentation for a geographical survey and methodology for very high capacity networks under article 43 of Law No. 54/2024, drafting secondary legislation aligned with Regulation (EU) 2024/1309, technical studies on 5G use cases in smart communities, design and implementation support for a 5G pilot project, and awareness activities for gigabit infrastructure and 5G stakeholders. The Albanian law cited in the notice is aimed at promoting electronic communications networks and services through VHCN deployment, competition, interoperability, accessibility, security, and end user benefits, while the Gigabit Infrastructure Act is the EU framework for reducing the cost of deploying gigabit networks [[1][5]].

Who can apply and what is expected

This is not a grant call, but a procurement for economic operators that can demonstrate the professional and technical capacity required by the tender documents. The portal summary does not publish the full selection criteria, so applicants need to review the request to participate documents carefully. The opportunity is marked as not SME suitable, which suggests it is not framed as a small business only procurement. EU Login is required to manage portal actions, and a PIC is mandatory for participation; the portal also states that submissions must be sent exclusively to the address provided in the procurement documents and that the submission method is non electronic.

1. 1Verify the selection criteria and required evidence in the request to participate documents before preparing the bid.
2. 2Confirm internal capacity for telecommunication consultancy, regulatory drafting, VHCN mapping, and 5G related technical work.
3. 3Prepare a compliant non electronic submission package and follow the address and format instructions in the procurement documents.
4. 4Allow enough time for organisational validation, including EU Login access and PIC registration, if not already in place.

Commercial and administrative conditions

Strategic and legal context

The opportunity is closely linked to Albania's ongoing alignment with the EU electronic communications acquis. The supporting legal and policy references indicate that Law No. 54/2024 transposes elements of the European Electronic Communications Code, while the Gigabit Infrastructure Act under Regulation (EU) 2024/1309 provides the EU framework for reducing deployment costs of gigabit electronic communications networks. The contract therefore appears intended to help Albanian institutions translate that regulatory framework into surveys, secondary legislation, technical studies, and pilot implementation for VHCN and 5G deployment [[1][5][8][10]].

Key takeaway:This is a substantial technical assistance procurement for entities with strong telecom policy and consultancy expertise, not a direct funding grant, and the winning bidder will be expected to support both regulatory alignment and practical digital infrastructure planning.

Footnotes

1. 1Supporting sources consulted include the official EU Funding and Tenders Portal notice, the associated TED publication, and the Albanian ministry and legal texts referenced in the search results.