I wonder if economists regard this as a sign of a bad economy. Some years ago lowland Tajikistan (a country where the economy is weak outside of remittances from gastarbeiter in Russia) saw a sudden wave of building petrol stations one after the other to the point of absurdity. A great many of them then went bust.

Lol I don't think there are that many, which area? But gas stations can be like normal businesses there and often have restaurants and sometimes even hotels. I accidentally stayed at a gas station hotel once by the airport, when my go to hotel was full and I didn't know and booked online, and only when I arrived did I realize it was a gas station.

Exactly. I've spend a day in Albania, from Shkodër to ferry terminal in Durrës. Haven't seen a bunker, but easily saw 100s of gas stations. Almost none of them accept card, unfortunately.