TIRANA, Aug  2  /ATA/ The Milot-Fier road axis will be the first highway in Albania that will have a maximum speed of up to 130 km per hour.

Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, said on Tuesday that, “we are now ready to launch a project of major importance for the country’s infrastructure and economy, the Blue Corridor, with the Milot-Fier axis.”

Speaking at the meeting on the rollout of strategic projects in the country’s infrastructure held on Tuesday in Tirana with the participation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, Balluku emphasized that the Milot-Fier road axis is not only a national project, but also a regional and European one.

“This project is part of the European Connectivity Network, which connects Montenegro, Albania and Greece with the Mediterranean ring road that today stops in the south of Croatia, but in the meantime facilitates the connection with Kosovo, as well as significantly brings the North and the South of Albania closer,” Balluku said.

Balluku pointed out that the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor, otherwise known as the Blue Corridor, is one of the biggest challenges of the Rama-led government. This corridor is part of the great Mediterranean corridor, 1550 km long. In the Albanian part, the Blue Corridor runs 300 km, or accounts for 37% of the Blue Corridor and 7.5% of the Mediterranean Corridor.

She said that the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor will connect Northern Europe, Italy with Southeastern Europe starting with Croatia, Montenegro, etc. This corridor connects the South with the North of the country, but it is also connected to the European corridors, creating opportunities for sustainable economic development in Albania.

Balluku brought to attention that, two years ago, a feasibility study was conducted for this axis.

“The international competitive bidding appealed to many international companies, but financiers withdrew due to pandemic outbreak which created a lot of uncertainty. We postponed the deadline of this process several times. One bid was also disqualified as it did not meet the technical criteria. The company offered to build the road in 90 months, which did not comply with the government’s requirements for the completion of the construction in 60 months,” Balluku said.

Balluku said that, “we have already decided that for a part of the Blue Corridor, the first 114 km from Milot to Fier, Milot-Thumanë, Kashar-Lekaj e Rrogozhina, Lekaj-Fier will be the component axes of this corridor and  international competition for their construction will be launched today. We will segment it, giving more opportunities to companies to compete.”

“For the next segment Thumane Kashar, work is underway, while for the next segment Milot Murriqan we are waiting for the design from the consultants,” she added.

The minister announced that this axis will also have a secondary road, adding that on the new highway of type A, the speed will be range from 90 to 130 kilometers.

“The development of this project will have a number of economic benefits. Significant increase in employment, more road safety, lower cost for transport, increase in tourism as the distances from North to South are shortened. It will deliver a significant impact on foreign trade and the country’s economy,” said Balluku.

/sm/