TIRANA, Feb. 9 – Works to build a luxury veil-like square in front of the country’s biggest port of Durres next to the ancient walls of the Durres castle have brought to light a medieval Ottoman era building and a 19th century cannon, temporary halting construction works pending a decision by the National Archaeology Council.
The suspension of works in the 6-million euro government-funded “Veliera” project came after activists protested the concreting of an ancient wall next to the landmark Venetian tower, also suing Durres Mayor Vangjush Dako over the destruction of archeological values in the country’s biggest tourist destination.
The Forum for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, an organization bringing together a group of intellectuals, has described the Veliera project a destruction of cultural heritage values while the Union of Albanian journalists has called on Durres Mayor Vangjush Dako and Culture Minister Mirela to stop “a barbarian crime with severe archeological consequences” until it is not too late.
Archeologist Moikom Zeqo says covering the ancient walls and cannon with concrete would be irreparable crime.
“This is a crime, a state crime committed to the archeology and Durres whose underground has been declared by law as national and international archaeological heritage,” Zeqo has said.
A BIRN news agency report has unveiled the municipality of Durres signed a contract with the Archeology Institute and the Archeological Rescue Agency only two months after digging works kicked off at a time when the majority of underground works had already been completed.
The Veliera project will be a 12,000 m2 square with a giant 2,000 m2 veil on it.
The project which is being implemented ahead of next June’s general elections has been criticized for its high cost at a time when Durres suffers prolonged tap water cuts, lacks a waste treatment plant and suffers frequent flash flooding due to lack of proper sewer systems, hampering its key tourism industry.
Socialist Party Mayor Vangjush Dako, now in his third consecutive term as Durres Mayor, has often been publicly accused of increasing concrete areas in Durres due to alleged interests in a concrete company where he was a shareholder before taking office as Durres Mayor in 2007.
The project comes after Durres reconstructed its central square and archeology museum in the past few years, making it more attractive to tourists.
The new bigger municipality of Durres following the 2015 administrative reform has a resident population of 175,000 people and includes five former coastal municipalities and communes.
The city’s population more than doubles in summer with dozens of thousands of local and foreign holidaymakers.
Founded in the 7th century BC under the name Epidamnos, Durres has been continuously inhabited for 27 centuries and is one of the oldest cities in Albania. The city boasts a Roman amphitheater of the 2nd century A.D, one of the largest in the Balkan.
