Albania Capital Eyes New, Modern District

Sep 29 2008 Tirana _ Tirana Mayor Edi Rama headed an international contest on Sunday that will select a new urban design plan for a key area located at the entrance to the Albanian capital.
Architecture studios, BLK Architects, Design International and Favre & Guth participated in the competition.
The three studious presented their vision to develop a two hundred thousand square meters area. The contest was judged by an international jury which is expected to publish the results in the near future.
Tirana municipality hopes to create an urban plan according to European Union standards in this area.
There are already some settlements in the area but they are most informal or illegal.
The Albanian real estate market is seen by foreign investors as being on the cusp of a building boom as the country slowly emerges from a difficult transitional period and its European Union prospects improve.
In April, Albania together with Croatia was invited to join NATO at the Bucharest summit, a further sign, experts believe of growing stability.