Rock collapse prevention, by-pass projects promoted in Berat

TIRANA, May 21 – Two projects to prevent the collapse of rocks in the museum neighbourhoods of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Berat and build a by-pass that would discipline traffic and protect the Osum river have been introduced. Both projects designed by Albanian company in cooperation with its Swiss partner are worth 40.5 million euros, which the municipality cannot afford on its own.
The first project preventing rock collapse, a threatening concern for inhabitants of the Kala neighbourhood where roofs are often damaged by this phenomenon, is expected to give a 50-year solution to this issue by installing barriers in the rock formation. Its cost is estimated at 530,000 Euros. Meanwhile, the cost of the by-pass project is estimated at 40 million euros.
“Both projects protecting museum areas from rock collapse and the By-pass which includes the treatment of the Osum River are very important for us. The completion of the By-pass project will provide a final solution to the traffic of high-tonnage vehicles which will no longer be able to pass downtown. This solution is within the town’s regulatory plan, the road network and the perspective and the emergency issues that need to be treated,” said Berat Mayor Fadil Nasufi during the presentation of the projects. Since 2008, Berat has been inscribed as a rare example of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period. Located in central Albania, Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries. It features a castle, locally known as the Kala, most of which was built in the 13th century, although its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The citadel area numbers many Byzantine churches, mainly from the 13th century, as well as several mosques built under the Ottoman era which began in 1417.
Berat bears witness to a town which was fortified but open, and was over a long period inhabited by craftsmen and merchants. Its urban centre reflects a vernacular housing tradition of the Balkans, examples of which date mainly from the late 18th and the 19th centuries. This tradition has been adapted to suit the town’s life styles, with tiered houses on the slopes, which are predominantly horizontal in layout, and make abundant use of the entering daylight.