Kosovo starts building interconnection line with Albania

TIRANA, May 4 – Kosovo has started building its own part of the interconnection line linking it to Albania, Kosovo government said on Wednesay. The project is being funded by the German government through KfW Entwicklungsbank under a euro 17 million soft loan, daily Zeri in Kosovo reported.
The investment is expected to stabilize the electricity transmission in Kosovo and enable better exchange of electricity with Albania.
Albania is also building its own part of the line linking it to neighbouring Kosovo.
The KfW-funded project expected to begin in the first months of 2011 comes after implementation of the 400 kw Tirana-Podgorica interconnection line, linking Albania to montengro
“The integration of the Kosovo and Albanian energy systems is a common priority because the electricity generation opportunities in Albania and Kosovo are different but complementary,” say Economy Ministry officials, adding that German-funded transmission line project will be a major investment and a powerful instrument to integrate both systems.
A 400 kw interconnection line linking the central Albanian city of Elbasan to Tirana has also been made operational under a 1.5 billion lek grant by the Italian Development Cooperation.