TIRANA, Jan. 6 – The country’s biggest port of Durres says both goods and passenger numbers registered a moderate increase in 2013.
The Durres Port Authority, which is the key hub for Albania’s exports and imports, says it handled 731,000 tonnes of goods from its regular ferry lines with Italian ports, up only 3 percent compared to 2013, reflecting the slowdown of Albania’s exports last year.
Passenger numbers to and from Durres Port rose by 8 percent to around 775,000.
The Durres Port, Albania’s biggest, targets becoming a regional hub for landlocked Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia. It has representation offices in Kosovo and Macedonia.
Key operations in Durres port such as the container, and ferry terminals are managed by foreign companies under concession contracts.
Both the passenger traffic and volume of goods handled in Albania’s main four ports registered a slight decline in 2013, reflecting the crisis impacts in the maritime transport, according to data by the Institute of Transport.
The Durres Port, the country’s biggest, handled around three-quarters of the passenger traffic and around 90 percent of imports and exports in 2013.
The three Albanian ports involved in passenger transport are the ports of Durres, Vlora, and Saranda. Since 2011, the Shengjin Port has not been handling passengers, reports the Institute.
