Partly operational since June 2009, the Durres-Kukes highway and its 5.5 km twin-bore Thirre tunnel is estimated to cost government around 4 million euros annually.
TIRANA, Feb. 28 – Five international companies, three of which joint-ventures, have submitted bids to upgrade, operate and maintain the new Durres-Kukes highway linking Albania to Kosovo in what would become Albania’s first toll road. Announcing the bidders, the Public Works and Transport Ministry said the bids will first be technically and legally assessed by March 23, 2012. “Financial bids will be submitted and examined after this deadline,” said a spokesperson for the ministry this week.
Prepared under consultancy by the IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, the documentation drafted for the Durres-Kukes highway will also serve for concession contracts on the country’s key roads.
Partly operational since June 2009, the Durres-Kukes highway and its 5.5 km twin-bore Thirre tunnel is estimated to cost government around 4 million euros annually.
The concession covers a 118 km segment from Milot to Morine, the major part of the Durres-Kukes nicknamed the ‘Highway of Nation’ including the 5.5 km Rreshen- Kalimash tunnel.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha has earlier announced that big companies will be hired to maintain major roads such as the Rreshen-Kalimash highway, admitting that the General Road Directorate lacks both human and material capacities to manage and maintain them. “As soon as the Shkembi i Kavajes-Rrogozhine segment finishes, even the Tirane-Fier and Tirane-Durres motorways will be granted further maintenance,” said the Prime Minister earlier.
Under the requirements drafted with IFC, the Milot-Morine Concessionaire will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Highway under a long term concession. The winning bidder will also operate and maintain the Thirra tunnel, an open tolling system, collect toll revenues, and extend protection measures to prevent road closures due to materials falling on the roadway. In addition to operation and maintainace requirements, the Concessionaire will also be obliged to undertake rehabilitation and expansion works such as the construction of the toll plaza for an open tolling system, installation of lighting at all interchanges, construction of the Kalimash interchange.
Linking Milot, approximately 60km northeast of the Adriatic port of Durres, with Morine at the Kosovo border, the route forms the central section of the wider Albania to Kosovo Highway, connecting Durres with Prishtina. Constructed in stages, the Highway is comprised of three segments, built to differing engineering standards: Segment I: Milot to Rreshen segment (26 km) comprises a two-lane single carriageway (numbered A1), Segment II: Rreshen to Kalimash segment (61 km) comprises a four-lane motorway (numbered A1) through mountainous terrain
It includes a 5.6km twin-bore Thirra tunnel; Segment III: The Kalimash to Morine segment (31 km) is a four lane road, completed in 2011 and principally comprising a four-lane dual carriageway, with the exception of seven short bridges which are two-lane.
The Highway includes the following interchanges: Milot, Rubik, Rreshen, Reps, Thirra, Kalimash and Kukes
Development of the motorway in Kosovo will induce additional traffic from Kosovo to Tirana and Durres, hence increasing the traffic levels on the Highway. The Government of Kosovo is currently constructing a 102.8 km motorway from Morine (end point of the Milot-Morine Highway) to Prishtina. A 38 Km stretch was completed in October 2011, while the whole motorway is expected to be completed in 2013 or 2014.
Road tolling offers the possibility of raising additional revenue for the road sector, and provides a dedicated source of finance for a particular road. Revenue from tolling is also independent from the annual budgetary process, and therefore increases the stability of road sector revenues, though toll revenues remain exposed to traffic risk, says London-Based EBRD which is supporting the GoA in the reform of the road sector
The Durres-Kukes motorway became fully open to traffic only in October 2010. Its major 60 km Rreshen-Kalimash segment was built by Bechtel-Enka, a US-Turkish consortium.
The motorway is the central leg of a 106-mile (171-km) highway traversing the country from the Adriatic Sea to the northeastern village of Kalimash near Kosovo. The new roadway cuts travel time between Albania and Kosovo from six to two hours, boosting coastal trade and northeast tourism. The motorway also provides a vital connection within Albania and across the region, linking markets to the Adriatic port of Durres and contributing to economic growth as Albania prepares for accession to the European Union. Its cost is estimated at 1 billion Euros.
The five bidders for the Milot-Kalimash concession:
– Strabag & Intertoll Consortium;
– J&P-Avax & Egis Consortium;
– Hochtief PPP Solutions Gmbh;
– Autostrada Brescia- Verona-Vicenza- Padova Spa;
– Vinci Concessions Sas – Aktor Consessions Sp.
