Highway costs taking their toll to the future

TIRANA, Monday 16ؔhe Rreshen-Kalimash segment of the Durres-Prishtina Highway that will connect Albania and Kosovo is expected to cost 75 Mln Euro per year in maintenance costs and annual interest payments.
According to experts, roads have an estimated 5% amortization per year, which translates into 50 Mln EUR per year for Rreshen-Kalimash whose construction costs have skyrocketed close to 1 billion EUR in the last two years.
In addition, half of the project’s costs have been financed through foreign financing amounting to 500 Mln Euro. With minimal interest rates estimated at around 5% for the foreign loans, future legislations are expected to cash out another 25 Mln EUR, at least, in interest payments per year.
Between maintenance costs and interest payments, the total yearly payment for the greatest public work in Albania may amount to 75 Mln Euro. That is an estimated 2.5% of budget expenses and or close to 0.8% of Albanian GDP.
The highway segment has been hugely advertised by the current government not only for its dimensions but also for its importance in connecting Albanians from both sides of the border (Albania and Kosovo). However, without denying its social and spiritual impact, the public work has been hugely criticized by opposition and economic experts for unjustifiable high costs and there is an ongoing debate whether the highway will be economically sustainable for years to come. Albania is hoping the Durres-Prishtina highway will serve as an economic artery for Kosovo, connecting the country with the Adriatic Coast and therefore giving the highway the sought economic sustainability, but yearly maintenance and interest costs and the Port of Thessalonica already in use by Kosovo might turn the project into nothing more than an expensive monument to the spiritual and blood ties between Albania and Kosovo.