85 mln euros transforming Korca’s infrastructure

TIRANA, Oct. 25 – The infrastructure of Korca, Albania’s biggest southeastern city is undergoing rapid transformation under a euro 85 million investment by the Albanian government, the German Government through KfW Entwicklungsbank and the European Investment Bank, says the public works ministry.
Inspecting projects to build a new water supply system, a sewage treatment plant and rehabilitate local streets, Public Works and Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi said the joint investment would give a final solution to the city’s problematic sewage system and rehabilitate 80 km of roads including 100 m2 of characteristic cobbled streets in downtown Korca.
“Around 70 million euros has been invested in the water supply system and another 15 million euros is being used to rehabilitate sewage systems and roads,” said Olldashi as quoted in a statement by the ministry.
“In the past, sewage in Korca was handled by a very dilapidated system, which mixed rainwater and sewage, was under-sized and also became partially clogged, leading to flooding of sections of the city during strong rainfall. This exposed the population to dangers of infectious diseases,” says KfW which is co-financing the projects.
After approximately EUR 30 million was invested in Korca for improving water supply, the Federal Government and KfW Entwicklungsbank, in cooperation with the EIB, committed an additional EUR 35 million for sewage disposal in Korca and has already or will thereby achieve the expected results for health and environment.