The highway is considered the biggest infrastructure project the government intends to build in this four-year term with a cost of nearly 320 million Euros
Ervin Lisaku
TIRANA, March 11 – Albania will soon start building a new modern highway that will cut the travel distance between the capital Tirana and the city of Elbasan to 31 kilometers from 48 currently, saving passengers to the central city 40 minutes. The project was presented last week in Elbasan in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi and Interior Minister Lulzim Basha, who was elected a deputy in the region of Elbasan.
The highway, considered the first segment of the southern road axis, will have four lanes and two tunnels, 2.3 and 2.1 km long each, seven overpasses and four underpasses through a mountainous route, said the Transports Ministry in a statement. It is considered the biggest infrastructure project the government intends to build in this four-year term after the Durres-Kukes-Morine highway linking Albania to Kosovo it built in the previous mandate. The highway, designed to follow the shortest possible trajectory, will have a maximum speed of 110 km/h, taking passengers only 15 to 20 minutes to arrive in Elbasan.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the highway was of major importance because of developing and economically empowering not only Elbasan by turning it into the nearest city with Tirana and an integral part of the metropolis, but also the whole southern and southeastern part of the country.
The Prime Minister admitted the highway would be terribly expensive, probably the most costly Albania has ever built, but described its construction as a necessity for the completion of the southern road axis.
Deputy Transport Minister Ernest Noka said earlier this month that the highway is estimated to have a cost of 320 million Euros.
The Prime Minister said the Albanian government would find no problem finding the funds for the highway’s construction, assuring all that hundreds of millions of Euros have been offered in soft loans by friendly countries and international banks.
The design project on this highway was started more than one year ago and was carried out by Italy’s “Bonifika” design studio.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi said he was convinced that the economic benefit from the costly highway would totally justify the big undertaking by government.
The tender procedures for the highway construction are expected to be launched next June.
