The EUR 600,000 contract was signed in July, through which AAM will participate in the development of the Albanian National Statistics Office (INSTAT) and its regional offices. The overall objective of the project is to improve the capacity of the Albanian Institute of Statistics in producing sustainable and reliable regional data following NUTS regulations and to increase its capacity to carry out agriculture and population censuses. According to the contract the project will start in September 2009.
The project consists of three separate, but interrelated parts: reinforcement of the regional network of INSTAT offices, improved capacity of INSTAT staff to carry out forthcoming censuses (agriculture and population) and levelled-concentration of a core of statistical data collection and survey responsibilities. The goal of the project is organizational development, designed to help countries currently ahead of EU membership to improve their infrastructure and institutional structure according to EU standards.
AAM has also participated in other EU and World Bank financed projects in the Balkan region in the past. The company opened its Bucharest office in late 2005, which was followed by another new office that opened in the region in 2009, this time in Croatia. The recently-won tender is extremely important in consolidating AAM's presence in the Balkan region, and it is the next step in the company's agenda for international expansion. Mr. Zoltán Szűcs, Chief Executive Officer of the company states, 'This is an important milestone for our company, proving that we are able to expand despite the current world-wide recession. I believe that in the current economic situation we can significantly improve our position by laying down the foundation of our international presence'. Mr. Szűcs added that the branch opening in Croatia is an important step towards AAM's goals, as is the recently-awarded Albanian tender.
AAM will take part in the Tirana project as the consortium and project leader. "Our primary goal is to involve our best specialists in any given project, therefore, we always delegate project managers with a great deal of EU work experience to guarantee smooth execution", says Mr. Zoltán Gimesi, AAM's International Business Development Director, adding that AAM's long-term goal is to become a significant regional player. Therefore, AAM is deliberately seeking opportunities that help to consolidate the company's position in the region. "It is not our main goal to obtain financial benefits, rather, we perform tasks that can be further developed and used as stepping stones towards new projects, which is how we establish concrete and effective relationships. We prefer to work with local professionals, and our goal is to establish a truly international team at home, as well as abroad," states Mr. Gimesi, adding that this and similar projects represent the groundwork towards AAM's future role as the leading industrial expert and important player in a given country. AAM has participated in similar projects in the recent past in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company is currently involved in a financial sector project in Bulgaria and another project in Croatia in which AAM is assisting Croatia's accession to the Schengen agreement.
