A modern ballast tamping machine has been delivered to speed up work on rehabilitation of Albania’s Tirana-Durres railway line to tamp the track ballast under railway tracks and make the tracks and roadbed more durable and level.

The Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, also Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, said that around 80% of civil construction work has completed.

“Around 80% of work on construction of Durres-Tirane-Rinas Airport railway has completed and process is running on schedule. Work is expected to kick off on construction of 10 new train stations along the rail line,” Balluku said at a ceremony marking the launch of an international tender for a 370 million euros railway project connecting Vorë to Hani i Hotit, Shkoder, on the Montenegro border, aiming to modernize infrastructure and boost trade.

She said that funding of 120 million euros has also been provided for construction of 34-km long railway line linking Durres and Rrogozhine, a project cofounded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union.

Balluku announced that initial design of Rrogozhine-Pogradec railway line is also ready and the project will complete Corridor VIII, one of the most strategic road, railway and energy corridors that will connect the Mediterranean with the Black Sea.

Deputy PM Balluku said that the procedures are underway on construction of new cargo port in the Porto Romano area, which will be connected with these railway lines, providing North Macedonia and Kosovo access through the dry ports.

The feasibility study has been also conducted on the 105-km railway line connecting the coastal city of Durres to Kosovo’s capital Pristina. The railway projects are designed to connect Albania with other countries in the region.

/j.p/u.sh/