Albania offers Macedonia Durres Port access

TIRANA, Oct. 1 – Neighbouring Macedonia now has a concrete opportunity to make use of the Durres Port after the opening of a representation office in Skopje.
Macedonian officials believe the opening of the Durres port’s representation office will make them less dependent on the Thessaloniki port for the transport of goods because of the ongoing blockade problems in Greece’s Thessaloniki port as the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece remains unsettled.
“The opening of this office will make export of goods for Macedonian and foreign companies easier. It will also ease their job for an alternative port so that they are not only dependent on the Thessaloniki port,” said Visar Fida, the head of Macedonia’s Foreign Investment Agency.
Ivan Pestovski, a representative of Macedonia’s Transport Association said Macedonian transport should see Durres Port as a closer alternative to Western Europe.”
Macedonian businesses have up to now used Thessaloniki port due to its more favourable infrastructure.
Introducing the port’s characteristics, capacities and expected investments, Eduard Ndreu, the Durres Port director said Albania was Macedonia’s shortest way to Europe.
“It is so simple to understand that Albania is Macedonia’s natural sea outlet to connect to the world. But I am convinced this is not enough, we want to work more to eliminate all those barriers which make this short way long,” said Ndreu.
Albanian exports to Macedonia during the first eight months of this year were 2.5 billion lek, almost unchanged compared to the same period last year, accounting for 2 percent of total exports. Meanwhile, Albania imported 5.4 billion lek of goods during the first eight months of 2012.
Ethnic Albanians officially account for around 25 percent of Macedonia’s 2 million population, but the figure is estimated to be higher.
Last July, the Durres Port inaugurated its new terminal, a euro 21 million investment by the EBRD, the EIB and the Albanian government. It has been designed to serve between 1.2 to 1.5 million passengers a year, 200,000 cars and 60,000 trucks.