Durres Port launches Tender to Build Ferry Passenger Terminal

DURRES, Nov.20 – A new international tender for the construction of a ferry passenger terminal at its major Adriatic port of Durres, was launched on Monday. The estimated value of the project is 40 million euro ($51.3 million), according to the Ministry of Transportation. “Investments in the port’s terminal will begin in early 2007,” according to the declaration. The statement said that the project includes: the construction of a passenger ferry terminal, reconstruction of associated infrastructure, provision of safety elements for ferry boats, as well as reconstruction of two quays at the port and building an access road to the ferry terminal. The financing will be under the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) who declared in October its intention to provide some 14-18 million euro for construction of the port’s ferry passenger terminal. The same bank has financed previous projects related to the same port. In mid-2006 Albania completed up a 10.1 million euro project financed by to increase the capacity of the port. The renovation allows the processing of up to 75,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers.
The ministry has published the following data about the new terminal. It will have a steel-and-glass main building of 5,400 m2, the necessary space for the passenger flow. A parking space of 63,500 m2 will be allocated to port vehicles. Parking space for passenger vehicles will be 2,100 m2 . there will be a foot bridge connecting the port to the train station, with the estimated lengths of 226 m, making access to transportation easier. Check points for incoming and outgoing passengers that are estimated to reach a number of 2000 in peak hour. The necessary space and equipment will be allocated to customs services. The Terminal will be complete with all the contemporary facilities such as: bar, restaurant, waiting room, internet access points, etc.
The Durres port handles 80 percent of Albania’s port trade. The port’s latest data showed that its cargo traffic in the first ten months of 2006 rose by 11 percent compared to last year. In the same period passenger numbers fell slightly (less than 1 percent).
Given the strategic position of the Durres port, which lies at the western end of pan-European transportation Eighth Corridor, Albania seeks to overhaul the port’s infrastructure, rebuild its quays and bring the facility into line with European Union standards. The corridor links the Adriatic and Ionian coasts to the Black Sea coast, through Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria.