Thirre tunnel incident sparks political friction

TIRANA, Nov 9 – One of the tunnels in Thirre suffered damage after the failure in part of it due to movement inside the mountain.
There was no clear reason why it happened, having been initially reported by the local media.
After that the Ministry of Transportation said the damage was a result of natural causes. No one was injured, nor machinery damaged.
That particular tunnel had not been open yet and the other is also closed since last month while waiting for completion of all its required maintenance.
The 5.5 kilometer long tunnel is made up of two galleries, one of which was inaugurated just before the June elections.
The incident also sparked a political squabbling between the governing Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the main opposition Socialist Party of Tirana Mayor Edi Rama.
Rama criticized the government for a lack of transparency on the incident and also asked the prosecutor’s office to immediately start an investigation on the causes of the incident.
Rama also accused Berisha and the government of corruption in what he said was the country’s biggest payment for a public project.
Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi immediately replied saying that the opposition should not be so pleased over such an incident and turned down the accusation on corruption.