Government asks donors’ help for flooding rehabilitation

TIRANA, Jan. 27 – The government’s emergency committee headed by Interior Minister Lulzim Basha on Wednesday met with international donors asking for their assistance in the rehabilitation of the flood-hit area in northwestern Albania, Shkodra and Lezha districts.
For two weeks this month the area was flooded from the water discharged from the three hydropower stations in the Drini River after heavy rain and snow.
More than 11,000 hectares of land and 2,500 houses were flooded.
The government said in a statement the aim of such a meeting with foreign donors was also preparing an international conference to ask for financial help in a major work trying to prevent other flooding in the area.
The European Union, OSCE, World Bank, other institutions and separate western countries pledged their further support in coping with this situation.