TIRANA, Nov 14 /ATA/ Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, in her remarks at the joint meeting of the two governments taking place in Skopje, stated that lobbying the EU to ensure the financing of Corridor Eight is very important.
The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that the cost of building the railway and the highway, part of Corridor 8, are a heavy burden on the budgets of the two states.
“Corridor Eight is one of the most important and vital projects for our two countries. Meanwhile two EU countries, Italy and Bulgaria, have expressed their will to support us. Their voice would help us a lot. Corridor Eight is important not only because of the connection of road and rail transport, but also because of the security issues that arise today, as it would connect the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. We believe that the voice of these two countries, part of the EU, will help us include this project in the Core Network (which is the main network that includes the most important connections, linking the most important junctions and will be completed by in 2030). The inclusion gives us the opportunity to apply to the various calls to insure funding”, said Balluku.
Corridor Eight is one of the ten “trans-European corridors” which are designed to facilitate the exchange of goods, people, oil and energy supplies between the EU countries, the Balkan states that have access to the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and the states of Central Asia.
This corridor starts from the Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi, to the port of Durrës and then continues towards Tirana, Skopje and Sofia, to arrive at the ports of Burgas and Varna on the Black Sea.
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