World Bank director assesses projects in Albania

TIRANA, Aug. 10 – Jane Armitage, Country Director and Regional Coordinator for South East Europe visited Albania from August 2-6 to assess the progress in implementation of World Bank-financed projects in Albania.
She visited several project sites and met with beneficiaries and discussed with high level Albanian authorities the current macroeconomic and fiscal situation. Also discussed was the impact of the international financial crisis as well as starting a dialogue regarding the World Bank financing program for the next four years.
Armitage met with Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Finance Minister Ridvan Bode, and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Albania Fatos Ibrahimi, other government officials, project beneficiaries, private sector members and civil society representatives.
Armitage commended the government on the good progress on implementing bank financed projects and expressed appreciation for good collaboration. They also discussed the priorities for the upcoming Country Partnership Strategy (CPS).
Armitage visited and met project beneficiaries in Tirana, Fier, Vlora, Jale and Berat including those from Education Excellence and Equity, Avian Influenza and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response, Power Sector Generation, Energy Community of South East Europe APL 2 on Transmission, Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Clean-Up, as well as the Secondary and Local Roads projects. She toured the proposed site for a new school in Paskuqan. Armitage also visited the Intensive Care unit at the Mother Teresa Hospital, the Virology Laboratory at the Institute of Public Health and the proposed site of the Animal Health Laboratory, all of them financed under the Avian Influenza and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response project.
Armitage toured the Vlore power plant site where she expressed satisfaction with the progress and implementation of environmental mitigation actions. She also visited an electricity substation in Berat. Recalling also the World Bank Group’s other projects in dam safety and privatization of the distribution operator, she noted, “Ʃt is very encouraging to see that the World Bank’s long engagement in the energy sector in Albania, together with other donors, is yielding long awaited improvements in the supply of energy for development.”
In Fier, the Country Director spent a few hours with the pilot Water Users Organization of Cukas where farmers expressed their gratitude for the support under the Water Resources Management project which has contributed to the expansion of the irrigated area and to the increase in agricultural yields and production. Inspecting the rehabilitation of a road in Berat, Armitage expressed appreciation for the rapid implementation of the Secondary and Local Roads Project, “Ƴuch investments that help link communities more easily to markets in nearby towns are really critical for improving rural livelihoods and lifting even more Albanians out of poverty.”
During her visit in Jale, Armitage also met with the families involved in the Inspection Panel Case on the Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Clean-Up Project to discuss the progress on the implementation of the Action Plan of the Management Report.
The discussions with the Government, the Bank of Albania and private sector representatives focused on the current macroeconomic situation and fiscal performance as well as on the review of the implementation of the World Bank’s Country Strategy for Albania (2006-2009) and the priorities for the new Country Partnership Strategy (2010-2013).
Armitage expressed satisfaction with the performance of the World Bank financed projects and encouraged the authorities to persevere in their reforms to lay a good basis for increasing private investment and jobs and reducing poverty. In this context, Armitage also emphasized some of the challenges facing the Albanian economy, in particular the current fiscal performance, including the budget deficit and debt levels, reduction of credit access in the economy, and the current account deficit. She noted the importance of a prudent fiscal policy particularly in the context of the overall financial crisis and the diminishing trend observed in the remittances.
Albania joined the World Bank in 1991. World Bank commitments to the country to date total approximately $1.1 billion for 67 operations. Currently there are 18 operations under implementation with commitments of US $300 million.