This tunnel begins 500 meters from the Saint Eliza bridge, which is part of the Orikum-Dukat road. The infrastructure work has a total length of 7.42 kilometers.

The Llogora tunnel consists of two tunnels, the main tunnel and the emergency tunnel. Both the main tunnel and the emergency tunnel have 11 connecting tunnels along their entire length. The depth of the tunnel project line is 1 kilometer from the ground surface.

Deputy Prime Minister, also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku called it part of the entire infrastructure necklace.

In a televised interview inside the tunnel, Balluku said that the tunnel will be open during this summer season and this year it will be tollfree, since the work will resume again in September to be ready in 2025.
Deputy Prime Minister also responded to the opposition’s allegations about the cost of road infrastructure construction, sharing comparative figures of countries in the region.
According to her, the opposition’s accusations that construction costs in the road infrastructure in Albania have skyrocketed are entirely political.

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In addition to the construction of the tunnel, work continues in parallel on the construction of the roads connecting this work with the national road axes to be delivered on June 30, when it is set to open for traffic.

Deputy Prime Minister, also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, together with the director of the Albanian Road Authority, Gentian Gjyli, inspected the works at the construction site, which is considered one of the most important ones in terms of infrastructure.

In the tunnel of Llogora, work is in full swing to concrete the last meters, to continue with other processes, such as asphalting, lighting and ventilation system. Balluku, having commended the progress of the works, said that this tourist season the Llogora tunnel will be accessible to significantly facilitate traffic and shorten the distance to the south coast.

“Today we didn’t come to inspect the tunnel, as works on the tunnel have run apace , today we came to inspect the connecting roads, which is the most important part as all the traffic will be diverted from the exit of the tunnel to connect with the Palasa-Dërmi road, which is another new segment that we have built”, she said.

The minister also announced that this season, heavy tonnage vehicles will not be able to pass through the tunnel, to give the work time to consolidate. They will continue to pass through the current axis.

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TIRANA, May  24 /ATA/ Deputy Prime Minister, also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, inspected Wednesday the progress of the works in the Llogora tunnel, where nearly 2 kilometers have been paved with concrete so far.

Balluku announced that the tunnel will be delivered in June 2024.

Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the works in the emergency tunnel have been progressing at a good pace with about 5,000 meters excavated so far and another 400 meters that are set to be excavated.

“We are working on paving with concrete and waterproofing on both sides of the tunnel, in Palasa and in Dhërmi. The tunnel consists of 11 emergency exits and 6 rest stops. The 5450 meter long emergency tunnel is almost open. Another 400 m remain to be excavated. This tunnel will be completed in June 2024,” said Balluku.

According to her, once the tunnel is completed, all infrastructure works in the south of Albania will be inter-connected.

“The Vlora bypass will be connected with the Vlora airport road, then with the Orikum-Dukat segment. This segment is connected with the Llogora tunnel, and at the exit, in Palasa, it is connected with the Palasa-Dhermi segment,” said the minister.

This tunnel has a great impact on the economic development of southern Albania and the infrastructural connection with Vlora airport.

The work on the construction of the Llogora tunnel 5.9 kilometers at length kicked off on November 14, 2021.

The Llogora tunnel starts from the bridge of Saint Eliza in the area of ​​Dukat and extends to the bridge of Palasa. At a speed of 50-80 km/h, the road will be traversed in 7-10 minutes.

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TIRANA, Jan  31 /ATA/ – By Maela Marini/ The excavations in the Llogora tunnel have completed and it is now open in its entire length.

Prime Minister Edi Rama and Deputy Prime Minister, also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku inspected on Tuesday the construction site of this tunnel, which is opening throughout its length.

“We close with an exciting moment for all the teams involved the excavations of the Llogora tunnel, which is now open in its entire length, thanks to the completion of the most difficult process in the construction of this infrastructural work, which will significantly shorten travel time to the Ionian sea, improving road safety standards,” said Rama.

The Prime Minister emphasized that “this is a work carried out in record time that will be followed by other processes until the completion of the entire work, hopefully on June 1 next year.”

While Balluku informed that the works in this tunnel have exceeded the expectations and the last curtain brought down today definitely opens the tunnel.

“We also have an auxiliary tunnel connected to the central tunnel with 11 exits, 5 for vehicles and 6 for pedestrian access. Work is in full swing in all aspects. The height of the main tunnel is 4.7 m and the width is 7.7 m, of which 1.7 m is sidewalk for emergencies and 6 m are available for use by vehicles,” she said.

Balluku assured that the infrastructural work will be fully completed on August 10, 2024.

“Our goal is that in the 2024 season, on June 1, 2024, the entire facility 7.4 km long, of which 6 km is the tunnel and 1.4 are access roads and bridges connected to the Palasa section, will be ready and operational for all citizens,” she said.

Balluku thanked all the teams that have been engaged in this construction site and have honored their promise opening the tunnel ahead of schedule.

“There are teams from Turkish and Albanian companies and a Greek supervisor working on the ground. They are doing a great job. They look like a Balkan crew that is building a tunnel called ‘long range.’ I thank the ARA team that carried out the supervision. Although the geology has been favorable compared to the problems encountered on Arbri Road, yet there have been bottlenecks along the way. This is a large work, with another 1 auxiliary tunnel, 11 connecting parts, but everything has run smoothly. On June 1, 2024, the Llogora tunnel will be ready,” said Balluku.

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