TIRANA, March 16 – Greece-based Egnatia Odos consultant has been contracted by the Albanian government to draft a strategy on the introduction of toll roads in Albania as a tender has been announced for a 30-year concession of the Milot-Morine highway section linking Albania to Kosovo which is set to become the country’s first toll road.
Egnatia Odos S.A which has offered consultancy and supervision services in several projects in Albania, will be paid Euro 150,000 under a project financed by London-based EBRD to complete a strategy on road tolls in Albania in the next eight months, says the Albanian Transport Ministry.
The strategy will identify the potential road segments where tolls will be introduced under EU legislation in an effort to reduce high maintenance costs in some key segments, says government.
Albania’s road network includes 18,000 km, of which 3,740 km are national roads, with no toll system in place yet.
“Road tolling offers the possibility of raising additional revenue for the road sector, and provides a dedicated source of finance for a particular road. Revenue from tolling is also independent from the annual budgetary process, and therefore increases the stability of road sector revenues, though toll revenues remain exposed to traffic risk,” says London-Based EBRD which is supporting the Albanian government in the reform of the road sector.
The 114-km Milot-Morine segment of the Durres-Kukes highway linking Albania to Kosovo is set to become Albania first toll road.
The Transport and Infrastructure Ministry has announced a pre-qualification tender for a 30-year concession of the Milot-Morine highway section. In an announcement made by the Public Procurement Agency, the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry invites companies to submit their pre-qualification bids to upgrade, operate and maintain the 114 km Milot-Morine segment until March 23, 2015.
Transport Minister Edmond Haxhinasto has said the toll for the Albania-Kosovo highway will be at around 5 euros VAT included
Operational since June 2009, the Durres-Kukes highway and its 5.5 km twin-bore Thirre tunnel is estimated to cost government around 4 million euros annually in maintenance.
