TIRANA, June 14 – Two consortiums led by Turkish and Albanian firms have bid to invest about €50 million on a 30-year concession contract for a 114-km highway segment linking Albania to Kosovo, which would make it the country’s first toll road.
The new tender came after several previous efforts in the past couple of years failed to produce a winner because of unfavorable bids “running counter to public interest.”
Transport Minister Edmond Haxhinasto says the concession of Albania’s part of the Highway of Nation and the introduction of an expected €5 toll is a necessity considering its high maintenance costs.
“Albania spends about Euro 4.5 million a year to maintain this road segment and this will be covered through tolls as happens in every European country,” Haxhinasto has said.
Turkey’s “Vendeka Bilgi” and Albanian “Catalys and Salillari” are the two consortiums racing to take over Albania’s first-ever concession highway.
While the ministry is evaluating bids, the state budget could yet be affected as the concessionaire is expected to be provided traffic guarantee of 4,000 vehicles a day.
Some experts and the local communities have voiced concern the concession will negatively affect trade exchanges with Kosovo, the country’s second trade partner for exports, and tourist arrivals from the neighboring ethnic Albanian country which accounts for about half of foreign visitors in Albania’s ‘patriotic’-dominated tourism.
The winning concessionaire is supposed to collect and keep toll revenue and in exchange implement and finance motorway improvement measures, construct a new bridge on Drini River in Kukes, northeastern Albania and carry out emergency geotechnical and stabilization works.
Linking Milot, approximately 60 km northeast of the Adriatic Port of Durres, with Morine at the Kosovo border, the route forms the central section of the wider Albania-Kosovo highway, connecting Durres with the Kosovo capital Prishtina.
Operational since June 2009, the Durres-Kukes highway and its 5.5 km twin-bore Thirre tunnel is estimated to cost government around 4 million euros annually in maintenance.
The highway, which is estimated to have cost Albania a staggering Euro 1 billion became fully open to traffic only in October 2010. Its major 60 km Rreshen-Kalimash segment was built by Bechtel-Enka, a U.S.-Turkish consortium.
