The new highway linking Albania and Kosovo is expected to become the country’s first toll road
TIRANA, June 14 – The International Finance Corporation, which the Albanian government has hired as a consultant for privatizations and concessions, says the report on concession of the Durres-Kukes highway will be ready by next autumn.
Elira Sakiqi, a representative of IFC Albania told reporters this week that three teams have been established to assess the financial, technical and legal aspects of the newly built highway linking Albania and Kosovo, which is expected to become the country’s first toll road. The IFC representative says the concession process will be transparently conducted under an international tender where important foreign investors will be invited to take part.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha announced recently that big companies will be hired to maintain major roads such as the Rreshen-Kalimash highway linking Albania to Kosovo, admitting that the General Road Directorate lacks both human and material capacities to manage and maintain them. “As soon as the Shkembi i Kavajes-Rrogozhine segment finishes, even the Tirane-Fier and Tirane-Durres motorways will be granted further maintenance,” said the Prime Minister.
The motorway which became fully open to traffic only in October 2010 was built by Bechtel-Enka, a US-Turkish consortium. The 37-mile (61 km) four-lane highway stretches from central Albania to the Kosovo border.
The motorway is the central leg of a 106-mile (171-km) highway traversing the country from the Adriatic Sea to the northeastern village of Kalimash near Kosovo. The new roadway cuts travel time along the route from six to two hours, boosting coastal trade and northeast tourism. The motorway also provides a vital connection within Albania and across the region, linking markets to the Adriatic port of Durres and contributing to economic growth as Albania prepares for accession to the European Union.
The road nicknamed the Highway of Nation is one of the largest infrastructure projects undertaken in the country and has presented many engineering challenges due to the complexities of the geology in the region and the fast-track construction schedule. The motorway includes a 3.4-mile (5.5-km) twin bore tunnel and 29 bridges built in a rocky, mountainous region. Its cost is estimated at 1 billion Euros.
