TIRANA, Oct 25 /ATA/ – The Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Belinda Balluku said Saturday that Albania’s new roadside aesthetics maintenance program is now being rolled out nationwide, calling it “as important as road safety” for a country that has become a major tourism destination.
Speaking during an inspection at the Rinas roundabout near Tirana, Balluku said the initiative extends the mandate of the National Roads Authority beyond structural maintenance to include greening, cleaning, and visual improvements along key corridors.
“With Albania now welcoming visitors from all over the world, it’s not enough to have safe roads – they must also meet aesthetic standards,” she said. “Roads Authority has now included roadside aesthetics among its responsibilities, from planting and landscaping to repainting and cleaning.”
Head of the National Roads Authority, Gentian Gjyli, said the first phase covers all four national regions, with new cleaning and watering vehicles and 25 workers per region – a figure expected to rise to 100 as the program expands.
Balluku also urged stricter year-round cleanup efforts along highways, noting that littering remains a problem during peak tourist seasons. “Tourism has become a four-season industry in Albania, and cleanliness must be treated as part of aesthetic maintenance,” she said.
She added that a national greening plan is being drafted to guide tree planting along highways – favoring pines for their resilience and palms for coastal areas – as part of what she called “a new culture of care for the country’s public spaces.”
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