Enel Interested In Albania’s Nuclear Future Potential

TIRANA, June 9 – While Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha continues to insist his country could be an energy ‘superpower’ in the region, neighboring Italy has conflicting reactions to such news.
Following the initial voice of interest from one official, now in the government cabinet, there arose others who said Albania does not have the proper security to allow it to build nuclear power plants.
But the public energy company, Enel, is keeping a close eye on Albania’s offer.
Enel SpA has said that they are ready to assess the feasibility of building a nuclear power plant in Albania if the Albanian and Italian governments reach a cooperation agreement, according to the Italian press. He added, however, that Enel has, to date, had no contacts with Albania on the nuclear issue.
In a newspaper interview on May 29, Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said his country is ready to reach an agreement with Italy to build nuclear power plants in Albania to help meet power demand in Italy. Berisha said he has not yet spoken to the Italian government, but added contacts have been made with an Italian group.
Italy’s Economy Minister, Giulio Tremonti, has previously said Italy should seek to build nuclear plants in neighboring countries facing the Adriatic Sea such as Albania or Montenegro.