TIRANA, Sept 13 /ATA/ Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, attended on Monday the rail summit of the Western Balkans’ Ministers of Transport held in Belgrade, where she unveiled the initiatives undertaken by the Albanian government for development of this sector, as well as cooperation with countries in the region.
In her remarks, Minister Balluku said that the project for the reconstruction of the railway line Tirana-Durres branching off to Rinas airport is well underway in partnership with EBRD.
Last week we had a meeting with the EBRD team on this topic.
The project on Tirana-Durrës railway which branches off to the airport is very important for us. The EBRD and the EIB are aware that our capacities are not adequate due to underinvestment in this sector for about 3 decades. Our experts are old and we do not have young experts, while reconstruction of railways requires capacity building to implement new projects,” said Balluku.
She also mentioned the first cross-border project, the railway that runs through to the border crossing point with Montenegro.
Balluku informed that we are also in talks about other segments that will contribute to Albania’s railway network so that all border connections will become a reality in the future.
“For us it is important to continue building our capacities with your support and get updated on the future projects,’ Balluku said.
According to Balluku, Albania which has emerged from isolation after nearly 5 decades is building this sector up from scratch and the need for capacity building is a pressing issue that should be addressed.
“First of all, I want to share with you something about the reality in my country. On the way from the airport the conversation with my staff was about the difference between Albania and other countries. The difference is that in Albania we are starting from scratch. The past in our countries has not been very similar. We have emerged from an authoritarian communist system. Infrastructure was obsolete. The railway sector was the only mode of transport in the country since private cars were not allowed. While for 50 years border crossing was prohibited,” the minister said.
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