Construction on 400 kV line connecting Tirana and Podgorica will end this year, the Albanian and Montenegrin energy ministers said at a meeting this week.
TIRANA, Feb. 17 – A major power line connecting Albania and Montenegro will be completed by the end of this year, the Albanian and Montenegrin energy ministers said.
Albania’s Dritan Prifti and Montenegro’s Branko Vojovic made the comments in a joint meeting in Tirana this week.
Construction on the line started in 2007. It links the countries’ two capitals, Tirana and Podgorica. It is 155 kilometers long and will enable the exchange of energy in the region at a cheaper cost.
The two ministers also discussed other issues related to economic cooperation.
“We have to work on both sides of the border for a better road infrastructure that will help increase trade and tourism exchanges,” Mr. Vojovic said.
Mr. Prifti said connections with Montenegro would help Albania better manage its energy resources.
He also said there is no concrete plan to build a nuclear power plant in Albania, as not event the proper legislation is in place yet.
Montenegro had expressed environmental and safety concerns last year when local media revealed discussions between Croatia and Albania to build a joint nuclear power plant in northwestern Albania, very close to the Montenegro border.
Albania has tried to diversify its electricity resources in order to avoid the power cuts of the last decade. The new connection line with Montenegro is part of that plan and will help ride the highs and lows in demand.
KfW Entwicklungsbank, Germany’s development bank, is providing some 44 million euros to finance the construction on both sides of the border of the transmission line from Tirana to Podgorica, and the expansion of the pertinent sub-stations.
The construction of the 400 kV high-voltage line between Albania and Montenegro will lay the foundations for connecting Albania to the Europe-wide Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity 400 kV transmission network.
This is an important step towards integrating national electricity markets to produce a standard regional market for electricity in South Eastern Europe. The enhanced opportunities to exchange power will foster economic development in Albania and help strengthen regional cooperation, according to a report by the KfW Entwicklungsbank.
In addition, the electricity transmission within the supply systems of the two countries will be stabilized. The project will improve reliability of supplies in Tirana and the downstream networks. It should be possible to significantly reduce power cuts, according to the bank.
Albania is also planning several projects to build more power plants, mainly hydro-electric.
The country ranks high for its considerable water resources and although about 98 percent of electricity comes from hydro-electric power plants. Experts say that only 35 percent of the hydro production potential has been used so far. However, as things stand, the country is too dependent on weather and the cycles of drought and rainfall.
