IDB finances Tirana-Kor衠road segment

TIRANA, April 16 – A USD 125 million soft loan by the Islamic Development Bank has paved the way for the construction of the Qukes-Qafe Plloce section of the Tirana-Kor衠road corridor linking the capital to the southeastern Albania. Commenting on his social network profile, Finance Minister Ridvan Bode said the 43 km Qukes-Qafe Plloce segment is already under construction with the first 3 km being financed by the state budget and the rest of 40 km by the Islamic Development Bank and the Saudi Fund for Development.
During the first 10 km the road passes along the Shkumbin River to continue along the Mokra highland. The two-lane motorway is 12 meters wide.
During recent years, Arab banks have been active in Albania financing road projects especially the Tirane-Elbasan highway.
The Qukes-Qafe Plloce section is a continuation of the Tirane-Elbasan highway already under construction and due to open to traffic this year. Overwhelmingly funded by Arab financial institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, the road will considerably cut distance between capital Tirana and Elbasan, the third most populated region of Albania, and a hub to the southeastern Albania.
The highway, which is expected to cut the distance to Elbasan from the current 48 kilometres to only 31 kilometres, will have four lanes and two tunnels, 2.3 and 2.1 km long each–saving passengers to Elbasan 40 minutes in travel time. It is considered the biggest infrastructural project of the Democratic Party-led government second consecutive term, after the Durres-Kukes-Morine highway linking Albania to Kosovo, which was fully completed in October 2010. The Finance Ministry said the highway’s cost has dropped from an initial estimated USD 407 mln to USD 290 mln.