Durres Port import/exports at a standstill

TIRANA, Nov. 14 – Imports and exports handled through Durres Port have stagnated during this year. Data from the Durres Port Authority show some 2.9 million tonnes of goods were handled through Durres Port in January-October 2012, the same to last year. The situation in the country’s biggest port reflects the slight increase in nationwide exports and a drop in imports despite port infrastructure having considerably improved. Exports from Durres Port during this period were at slightly more than 1 million tonnes, 36 percent of which were transported through containers and 22 percent through ferries. Imports to Durres port registered only a negligible increase of 25,000 tonnes. More than 703,000 passengers and 162,000 cars were handled in the port during the first ten months of this year, but no data are available for the same period last year. The Port also says reconstruction works in its eastern quay, a euro 8 million investment by the Port Authority and the Albanian government, have progressed to around 80 percent. The overall surface of the quay and squares under reconstruction is 15,900 m2.
Last summer, the Durres Port inaugurated its new passenger terminal making the handling of passengers easier. The terminal, a euro 21 million investment by the EBRD, the EIB and the Albanian government, was inaugurated last July. It has been designed to serve between 1.2 to 1.5 million passengers a year, 200,000 cars and 60,000 trucks.
The Port of Durres, owned by the Albanian government, is a core part of the regional transport network in Southeast Europe, and an important centre for international trade and travel. The Port is by far the largest commercial port in Albania, transporting on average around 80 per cent of the country’s international ship-borne traffic. It is currently involved in ferry, cargo and container operations.