New HPP, tunnel inaugurated in southern Albania

TIRANA, June 4 – A new hydropower plant built under a concession contract has been inaugurated in the southernmost district of Saranda. The Sasaj HPP in the Lukove commune, a euro 8.5 million investment by Italy’s Energo-SAS has a capacity of 8.6 MW, an annual production capacity of 35 mln kWh and will considerably improve power supply in the costal district by 25 percent. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony last weekend, Prime Minister Sali Berisha described the HPP concession race which government opened in 2007 as the Archimedes lever to turn Albania into a regional energy superpower.
Since 2007, government has signed 104 concession contracts for 327 hydropower plants. Forty-six of them have already been made operational.
An annual report published by the country’s Energy Regulatory Entity (ERE) shows six new HPPs, with installed capacity of 17.25 MW were made operational in 2011. ERE data show power generated from the 58 HPPs managed by 26 concession companies dropped by 14 percent to 136.8 GWh because of the unfavourable hydro situation, accounting for only 2 percent of total domestic production. The companies’ revenues also dropped by 10 percent to 1 billion lek (Euro 7 million). Some private investors say they have failed to get paid for energy sold to cash-strapped state-owned power corporation KESH in 2011.
In his trip to southern Albania, Prime Minister Berisha also inaugurated a 117-meter tunnel linking Vlora to the southernmost Albanian town of Sarana. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Uji i Ftohte (Cold Water) tunnel, Prime Minister Berisha pledged other investments for the coastal region of Vlora which mostly relies on the tourism industry.
The tunnel is a 100 million lek (Euro 708,000) investment by the Albanian government.