Tirane-Elbasan tunnel drilling complete

TIRANA, June 11 – Greece’s Aktor has officially concluded drilling work in the double-bore 2.3 km tunnel, part of a new highway linking Tirana to Elbasan. Works to open up the tunnel, the most difficult part of the highway, were completed 6 months before the deadline. Speaking at the ceremony last weekend, Prime Minister Sali Berisha reiterated the new highway linking Tirana to Elbasan would be ready in the first half of 2013.
Kuwait’s Copri Construction and Greece’s Aktor have joined to complete the Tirana-Elbasan highway under a USD 170 mln deal. Overwhelmingly funded by Arab financial institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, the road will considerably cut distance between capital Tirana and Elbasan, the third most populated region of Albania, and a hub to the southeastern Albania. The first part of the new contract, worth USD 84 mln, includes a 13 km segment from suburban Sauk to Krraba at the entry of the construction tunnel. The remaining part, worth USD 85 mln, includes the 11.7 Krraba tunnel-Elbasan segment.
Greece’s Aktor officially started works to build a double-bore 2.3 km tunnel in May 2011 as part of a new highway linking Tirana to Elbasan.
The highway, which is expected to cut the distance to Elbasan from the current 48 kilometres to only 31 kilometres, will have four lanes and two tunnels, 2.3 and 2.1 km long eachسaving passengers to Elbasan 40 minutes in travel time. It is considered the biggest infrastructural project of the Democratic Party-led government second consecutive term, after the Durres-Kukes-Morine highway linking Albania to Kosovo, which was fully completed in October 2010. The Finance Ministry said the highway’s cost has dropped from an initial estimated USD 407 mln to USD 290 mln.