Company Needs More Time To Complete Rreshen-Kalimash Tunnels

By Ardit bejko
TIRANA, July 11 – Behind schedule, the Rreshen-Kalimash road will not be ready next year as was planned, Bechtel-Enka construction company announced on July 9. The company will need nine more months to complete work on the most expensive segment of the Durres-Kukes highway.
The deadline extension came after data related to the works, and the project itself, were analyzed electronically, said specialists working for Bechtel-Enka. The company will need more time for completing the interior of the tunnel, electrical installations, lightning, and a camera monitoring system.
The initial plan to enhance the appearance inside only 500 meters of both sides of the tunnels changed after the government passed a supplementary budget on July 11. Out of the ALL 20 billion injection into the annual budget, ALL 14 billion will be allocated for the completion of the Rreshen-Kalimash segment. The government, then, decided to improve the appearance of the entire length of the tunnels.
Work on the Rreshen-Kalimash road began in May 2007. Half of the work had been completed by June 2008, Bechtel-Enka said. According to the company, they completed 50 percent of the work in 390 days by working three shifts per day.
The contractor, Bechtel-Enka, and the high cost of the Rreshen-Kalimash road have been at the center of heated discussions in parliament, recently. Two weeks ago, Socialist Erion Brace said the company’s profit is “colossal and unreasonableŮ.We are aware of the importance of the Durres-Morine road and the Rreshen-Kalimash segment, but Bechtel-Enka is earning more than it should,” said Brace, supporting his claim with the company’s tax reports.
The company ranked fourth among the top 20 most lucrative businesses in Albania. The American-Turkish joint venture reported profits of EUR 86 million in 2007.