World Bank to finance new water supply system in Durres

TIRANA, April 2 – The city of Durres and its surrounding areas are expected to have a new water supply system in the next five years, solving the problem of frequent water shortages in the country’s second biggest city which heavily relies on tourism. The project designed and financed by the World Bank with USD 86 million will provide water supply through a new line to 210,000 inhabitants of Durres, said Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi introducing the project with local government officials in Durres this week.
Currently, only 8,000 inhabitants of Durres get 24/7 water supply from the existing Fushe-Kuqe-Durres line.
The project envisages the construction of a new 50 km water supply line and six new water wells to provide uninterrupted water supply as well as the rehabilitation of the sewerage network.
Works for the construction of the new water supply system are expected to start in the next two months and finish by 2018. Officials say that all consumers will be provided with water meters under the new project and bill collection is expected to climb to 85 percent after its implementation.
Durres is the country’s second largest city and the main port of Albania, with a present population of about 300,000 including the surrounding rural areas. The Durres water supply system has served also the neighbouring Municipality of Kavaja with an estimated present population of about 55,000. Water for Durres city and Durres region is taken from the Fushe Kuqe well field 31 km north of the city. Seven wells with an average depth of 35m in alluvial deposits and a maximum recommended capacity, of 140 l/sec each are supplying raw water to a central storage tank at elevation + 10m. A pumping station with 9 pumps, each with a capacity of 90 l/sec, pumps water 18 km through a 700 mm pipeline to the Kuratne tank/weir at elevation +225 m. Being the only water source of the area along the transmission main, the last has been subjected to illegal and/or legal connections to it, resulting in a reduction of the water which arrives in Durres city by average 50% of the total pumped in Fushe Kuqe pumping station. A series of the World Bank funded projects has been implemented during the last 12 years.