Albania and Kosova: Connected Again

TIRANA, Oct. 6 – Government of Albania awarded Friday a contract to international consortium, Bechtel-Enka, for the construction of the Rreshen – Kalimash motorway. Albania signed a 418 million euro contract with a U.S.-Turkish joint venture to build a four-lane stretch of highway that will shorten the route to Kosova. That is the biggest ever infrastructure project made in the tiny Balkan country. Bechtel International Inc., based in San Francisco, and Enka, based in Istanbul, Turkey, will build the 57-kilometerroad segment, including a 6-kilometertunnel, starting this month until June 2009. The project will be implemented by a joint-venture between the American company Bechtel, one of the largest contractors in the world, and Enka, the largest construction company in Turkey. The Government of Albania has also hired the services of two reputable design consultants from Italy and France, Scetauroute and ItalConsult.
The funding will come from the Albanian government and other international institutions and banks, said Transport Ministry officials without giving details on the names of the companies or on loan terms. The contract is the result of a competitive international tender procedure whereby the “Bechtel – Enka” joint venture was selected by an independent international evaluation committee following extensive negotiations. The project is assessed by ECORYS independent consultants as economically viable. It will reduce significantly the travel time between Durres and Morine from the current 6 hours to 2 hours and 10 minutes. This project links Albania with Kosova, Macedonia, South Serbia, and with the Trans-European networks. The government hopes that it will also improve the economic situation in North-East Albania which is the most backward region in the country. It is also designed to improve the competitive position of the Port of Durres.
Kosova, a U.N.-run province in Serbia, is important to Albania because most of the tourists visiting the western Balkan country are ethnic Albanians from Kosova or Macedonia as well as expatriate Albanians returning from other parts of Europe. The portion of the highway being built by Bechtel is part of a 170-kilometerhighway to Kosova. The completed highway will run from the port city of Durres נ35 kilometers west of the capital Tirana נto the town of Kukes, 200 kilometersnortheast of Tirana, and then to the Morina border crossing point. The construction of the project will generate employment for at least 1400 Albanians. The project will be constructed as a 57 km dual carriage way and it will include a tunnel of approximately 6 km, which is one of the longest tunnels in the Balkans. The road will be constructed according to parameters for average speed of 100 – 120 km/hr. The project will be completed before June 2009.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha, whose government made the highway a priority, said it would link Albania with Kosova, Serbia and central Europe, thus opening up development prospects especially for the port of Durres. He added that the road would also help fight poverty in some of Albania’s poorest areas in the northeast. The new road will be about 45 kilometersshorter than existing roads and will shorten the travel time נwhich can now take up to six hours נto two hours. The current road, which has only two lanes, is full of potholes and winding turns, making it virtually impossible to drive at average speeds above 40 kilometers per hour.
During the implementation of the project there will be 8 millions meter cube of excavations and filling, 400 thousand meters cube of road sub-layers, 400 thousand meters cube of concrete and about 420 thousand tons of asphalt layers. The estimated cost of the project is 418 million Euros and it will be financed by the Albanian Government in collaboration with international partners. As such, this project is the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Albania. “The agreement upon implementation scheme reflects the Government’s ambition and objective to develop national infrastructure in a more efficient and effective manner and in accordance with European standards of quality and safety,” said a government press release. “The implementation of this major national project is an expression of the political will and in such way it fulfills a major promise of the Government of Prime Minister Berisha” concluded the statement. Nevertheless, concerns have been raised on the high cost of the project and its economic viability vis-ஶis other infrastructure projects that have been put on the backburner as a result of this major undertaking.