TIRANA, Feb. 28 – Air and maritime transport of passengers increased in 2016 but transport of goods by sea and rail freight suffered as the country’s exports struggled to recover affected by a slump in commodity prices with a negative impact on the key oil and mining production.
A report published by the country’s state statistical institute, INSTAT, shows the Tirana International Airport handled a record high of 2.13 million passengers in 2016, up 8.2 percent compared to 2015, and more than double compared to 2005 when a German-led consortium obtained a 20-year concession contract to upgrade and manage the country’s sole international airport.
The airport’s exclusive rights on international flights were lifted in 2016 through a 2-year extension to a concession contract now set to expire in 2027, paving the way for the construction and operation of new airports in a move to increase competition and reduce current ticket prices, estimated among the region’s highest.
In October 2016, the airport was taken over by a Chinese consortium led by China Everbright Limited acquiring a 100 percent stake for an undisclosed amount that is estimated at €82 million.
Meanwhile, maritime transport of passengers increased to a record high of 1.28 million, up 8.6 percent compared to 2015. Maritime transport of passengers is mainly carried out through Durres port, the country’s biggest, and two other ports of Vlora and Saranda, linking Albania to Italian ports and Corfu, Greece.
Albania’s largest port of Durres handled about 840,000 passengers to and from Italy in 2016 registering an 8 percent increase compared to 2015, the Durres Port Authority says.
Companies operating at the port link Durres to the Italian ports of Bari, Ancona and Trieste on a daily basis mainly covering trade exchanges with Italy, Albania’s top trading partner accounting for half of total exports and a third of imports, but also serving to a community of 500,000 Albanians in Italy as an alternative to more expensive flights and an opportunity to bring their cars with them when on holiday.
Maritime transport of goods dropped for the second year in a row last year, reflecting the poor performance of exports which struggled with a growth rate just slightly above zero in 2016 after contracting by 5 percent in 2015 following the slump in commodity prices in mid-2014 severely affecting the country’s key oil and mineral exports.
Maritime transport of goods mainly carried out through Durres port, dropped to 3.75 million metric tons in 2016, down 2.3 percent compared to 2015, but about 20 percent less compared to a peak level of 4.7 million metric tons in 2008 just before the onset of the global financial crisis.
Railway passenger and freight transport registered historic lows in 2016 as the country’s dilapidated transport sector handled only a few dozens thousands of passengers and metric tons of goods.
Only 69,000 passengers chose to travel by train in 2016, down from 198,000 in 2015 and about 4 million in the early 1990s soon after the collapse of the communist regime which banned private ownership of cars and public trains and buses were the key mode of transport.
Rail freight transport, carried out only through Montenegro, also hit a record low of only 76,000 metric tons in 2016, at only about a third compared to 2015 and eight times less compared to the early 1990s.
State-run Albanian Railways is currently the only operator in Albania’s rail system, which has seen a sharp decline both in both passenger and freight transport in the past two decades due to lack of investments and mismanagement. The Albanian government provides annual subsidies worth about €4 million to the railway system.
The railway sector was also severely affected by the demolition of the Tirana train station in late 2013 to build a new boulevard whose construction was suspended because of political disputes. A new train station outside Tirana opened only in mid-2015. However, located in the suburb of Kashar, some 10 kilometers away from the city center, it remains unappealing to downtown dwellers.
More than a decade after cancelling a contract with U.S. giant General Electric, Albania is planning to revitalize its dilapidated rail transport by reconstructing the key Tirana-Durres segment and linking it to the country’s sole international airport. London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has pledged a Euro 34.5 million loan to partly fund the reconstruction of the 35 km Tirana-Durres segment and built a new 7.4 km section linking Tirana to the airport just outside the capital in Rinas.
The government is planning to fund the remaining €52 million through the state budget or another soft loan from international financial institutions. The project’s total cost is estimated at €86.4 million.
