Bulgarian investors invited to Albania

TIRANA, Oct. 22 – Tourism, renewable energy and mining are key sectors for investments in Albania, Prime Minister Sali Berisha told a joint Albania-Bulgaria economic forum held this week in Tirana. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov on an official visit to Albania also attended the forum.
“With Prime Minister Borisov we agreed to seriously consider cooperation on Corridor 8, which implies not only the highway, but also the railway and all our other connections,” said Berisha, adding that the Albania-Kosovo highway was the first segment of the Corridor VIII project.
“If we and the European Commission prepare a good project for Corridor 8 in section Albania – Macedonia – Bulgaria, combined with Struma and Maritsa motorways we will actually have a functioning infrastructure system in the Balkans, which takes into all directions railway freight and car traffic”, Borisov said.
The Corridor VIII is one of ten trans-European corridors which connects the Adriatic and Black Sea. It sets out from the Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi and knocks on the door of Durres in Albania before carrying on through Tirana, Skopje and Sofia, finally arriving in the Black Sea ports of Burgas and Varna.
Bank of Albania data show trade exchanges with Bulgaria have been increasing in the past couple of years. In 2011, Albanian exports to Bulgaria climbed to Euro 18 mln, up from Euro 12 mln in 2010 and Euro 5 mln in 2009. Meanwhile, Albania’s imports from Bulgaria dropped to 49 mln euros in 2011, down from an average of 60 mln euros in previous years.
The bigger Bulgarian investments in Albania are in the food industry, banking, mining, construction and infrastructure. The first hydroelectric power plant built with Bulgarian equipment will be set into operation in Albania soon.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov suggested to his Albanian counterpart Sali Berisha Albania to export bitumen for Bulgaria’s road construction, “If they can export to Bulgaria, this is the best bitumen, natural. The roads that were built with Albanian bitumen in Bulgaria have been unharmed for 30 years”, Boyko Borisov said. “We can purchase as much bitumen as Albania has to offer”, PM Borisov said.