TIRANA, Feb 6 /ATA/ – The historical heart of the city of Gjirokaster, a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Albania, will be reclaimed and transformed into a car-free and pedestrian area, where a underground parking lot will provide parking space for at least 300 vehicles, Prime Minister Edi Rama said Saturday as he attended the groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of work to construct an underground three-storey parking garage, accompanied by the Minister of Interior Bledi Çuçi and the Mayor of Gjirokaster Flamur Golemi.
PM Rama said in his remarks that “for everyone who see these projects being launched and ask ‘why exactly now’, I would like to say that a public work project doesn’t start when the excavators show up at the site, but the project begins with its design, funding provision, the tender procedures and the signing of contract.”
“This is a project we have launched together with the Mayor, and the Albanian Development Fund two years ago. It is something I was obsessed about many years ago, when I used to visit and see the centre of Gjirokaster serving as a parking lot. Cars should be banned from driving through this part which is a world heritage site,” PM Rama noted.
The government head said that “the parking lot on one side and the bypass road on the other will make sure that the historic centre of the city becomes attractive to businesses. More than 106 new businesses have been registered during this urban renaissance period only. This is another lesson taught to those who describe it a façade change project, but the urban renaissance is not a façade upgrade project, but an economic project.”
Gjirokastra Mayor Flamur Golemi said that construction of the parking lot at the city’s “Çerçizi” square was a kept promise and a long-time problem that needed to be tackled.
“Despite a tough year because of the pandemic, Gjirokaser has recorded a significant number of domestic visitors, especially on the weekends. The underground three-storey parking lot will house at least 300 cars,” Golemi said.
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