China State Construction Engineering Corporation will be responsible for the construction, operation, maintenance and management of the Arbri Road, considered vital for the underdeveloped northeastern region of Dibra and trade exchanges with neighbouring Macedonia
TIRANA, March 16 – The completion of the Arbri road, a key segment linking Albania to neighbouring Macedonia, is finally on track after the Albanian government has launched negotiations on a concession contract with CSCEC, China’s largest construction and real estate conglomerate.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation will be responsible for the construction, operation, maintenance and management of the Arbri Road, considered vital for the underdeveloped northeastern region of Dibra and trade exchanges with neighbouring Macedonia, says government in a draft law submitted to Parliament.
The draft law envisages the contract with CSCEC will be signed under a special negotiation procedure which will be supervised by a contract negotiation commission and foreign consultant, avoiding tender procedures. Government says it chose this special form of direct negotiation to speed up procedures and construction of the remaining part of the highway which will be country’s second largest after the completion of the Durres-Kukes highway linking Albania to Kosovo in 2009.
CSCEC, also known as China Construction, will build the remaining 26.8 km which is considered the most difficult segment because of including 15 bridges medium-sized and large buildings and two 2.6-km and 560 metre-long tunnels and four intersections. Due to the difficult terrain, the two-lane road is expected to have a speed limit of 50-60 km/h.
“The implementation of this project will increase the country’s road standards, but also promote employment and economic development in local areas,” says government.
The project is also expected to boost trade exchanges with landlocked Macedonia and make access to Durres Port easier. In addition, the tourism sector is also expected to get boost as tourists from Macedonia, where more than a quarter of the population is ethnic Albanian, are the second top foreign visitors to Albania.
The new road is expected to cut travel distance to neighbouring Macedonia to only 70 km, down from a 180 km currently.
Deputy Transport Ministry Ylli Manjani had earlier said the completion of the road remains hostage to around $200 million.
Some 31.6 km of the Arbri Road are still under construction and 25.7 km have been left without investment, including the costly Qafe Murrizi tunnel. The double bore tunnel is 2.5 km long with an elevation of 934 m, the ministry has earlier said.
“Dibra is one of the most underdeveloped regions in Albania. The Arbëri Road will connect Dibra with the rest of the country giving a much needed boost to the local economy. The road will also become a new vital route between Tirana and Macedonia thus improving considerably the infrastructure in this part of the Balkans,” says Professor Gezim Alpion of the Birmingham University who has initiated an online petition on the completion of the road.
The construction of the Arbri road got the green light last December at a China-CEE summit in Belgrade where the emerging superpower pledged $10 billion in infrastructure projects for Central and Eastern European countries.
“China is ready to play an active role in Albania’s highway, railway and port construction, promote more Chinese companies’ investment in cement plants, mining, economic parks and tourism,” China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang told his Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.
“A memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Exim Bank to start work on a series of Chinese projects in Albania has been signed. The first project that will open up a new era of cooperation between China and Albania will be the Arber Highway, on which construction will start in 2015,” Prime Minister Edi Rama wrote on social media ahead of the summit.
Trade exchanges and investments from China have seen an increase in the past few years which has emerged as the third biggest trade partner, strengthening the traditional ties between the two countries which date back in the late 1940s when diplomatic relations were established.
