The Municipality of Vlora reported that after more than 72 hours of intensive and uninterrupted work, it became possible to repair the defect in the main 1000 mm water supply line of the city.

The third water supply test has resulted positive and currently the Çentrale area, part of Lungomare and part of the “Pavarësia” neighborhood is being supplied with drinking water.

Mayor of Vlora Brunilda Mersini thanked the technical teams for their sacrifice and the citizens for their patience and understanding. /p.s./

During the meeting with the socialist assemblies of municipal units 5, 6, 13, 14 of the capital, Rama responded to claims about situation with Tirana’s water supply.

“Tirana has 24-hour running water in 67% of its territory. In 67% of its territory there is 24-hour running water supply, and this is not an opinion. This is a fact that can be read on all water supply bills. And there are 17 hours of water supply on average in the rest of the territory because Tirana is no longer a small municipality, but it is a rather large territory,” he said.

The prime minister spoke about twenty-four-hour water supply coverage of the majority of the population and in the most concentrated areas.

“If we go back a little to history, there has never been 24-hour water supply in the village, nor has Tirana and no other place in Albania. And there are still some who write articles raising the question: “You still talk about water, you still talk about electricity, you still talk about roads?” But, what should we talk about, about missiles? It’s not that when we took office, they gave us Albania with a missile base, which had taken them to the Moon and it was up to us to take them to Mars. When we took office in Albania, there were only four areas in the whole of Albania with 24-hour water supply, today there are 43 urban areas that have 24-hour water supply, there are 98 other rural areas that have 24-hour water. If we wanted to provide 24-hour water for the entire territory of Albania, we would have to leave many, many other things undone, because we are talking about billions, not millions. But, now we have 24-hour water coverage of the majority of the population and in the most concentrated areas. This is the way we have been progressing with investments”, he said. /r.e/p.s./

Balluku said that a series of investments are made to improve the energy transmission and distribution network.

She also made public the contact numbers for any breakdown.

“Albanian power grid operator is on standby to ensure the smooth running of electricity supply system during the tourist season”, she wrote in a post in the social media.

Ballluku added that for any situation, the citizens can report to the available contact numbers, which are available 24 hours a day, both in coastal and mountainous areas. /r.e/p.s./

Defence chief added that Kosovo has already completed all the due payment transactions under a purchase plan and that the advanced anti-tank weapon systems “Javelin” will soon be part of Kosovo’s Security Force arsenal, declining to disclose the delivery date due to the confidentiality of the process.

Maqedonci underlined that Kosovo has been armed with Turkish-made medium-range anti-tank weapon systems “OMTAS”, similar to the “Javelin’ anti-tank systems.

Defence Minister said that Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s government has invested around 240 million euros in purchasing advanced armament systems in the last three years.

He added that Kosovo’s defence spending was estimated at 2% of the country’s GDP in 2023, a target that should be met by all NATO member states.

/KosovaPress/u.sh/

Balluku emphasized the readiness for today, while she said that the production should be at the maximum due to the demand that is expected to reach 25-26 thousand megawatts for today.

“We managed to produce 29,000 megawatts in the Drin cascade last week, breaking a record,” she said.

Balluku emphasized that, “The target is to have zero break downs, however we are also prepared for the unexpected as the network reaches maximum capacity”.

“But of course, the timely response of the teams on the ground, which must solve every problem in time, is important. Today is test day. Today, the equipment, technology and ready teams that are on the ground are put to the test. We test the technical and human capacities”, said Balluku.

She emphasized that despite having been under an extraordinary energy crisis for a year, the Albanian government has injected about 240 million into the energy sector to buy energy and not affect family members, raising prices again.

“A number of investments have been made to improve the distribution network. During this year, being able to do more with work than with investments, we have reduced technical losses by 1%, from 20.7% in 2021. This year will close with 19.7% technical losses, but our main goal to reach 16% of these technical losses “, she said.

Balluku was optimistic that 2023 will be a better year for energy than 2022.

“The facts show that it will be somewhat better since we entered with an energy reserve of 1200 gigawatts, while last year we entered with an energy reserve of only 800 gigawatts in January. So, we hope that the rains will start after January 8 and the Drin cascade will maintain its levels at 292 meters in the Fierza lake, creating a constant energy reserve”, said Balluku.

On the other hand, she emphasized that the citizens have responded to energy efficiency efforts.

“We have set a 15% target for all institutions and the administration has reduced consumption by 20% on average. Citizens have also reacted very well. This has been the key to success during our difficult period. Today we have a record production in the Drin cascade. This production is used to meet all the energy demand of the country. We have also deposited in KEK Kosova, in a relationship that we exchange energy and have exported at optimal market prices, creating a financial optimization for KESH”, she said. /p.s./

Prime Minister Edi Rama shared this morning a photo of this waterworks which improves the quality of life for nearly 30,000 local citizens of Laç.

The infrastructure of Laç water supply system was completely degraded since 1965 with a 55-year-old network. Likewise, 88.2% of consumers were didn’t have any water meters in their houses.

While Kurbini’s water resources are among the highest quality, cleanest and with the largest flows in the country, thousands of local residents could not access the vital water for them and the development of the area.

Meanwhile, there are made significant investments in the city that have changed a lot the lives of the residents and have created conditions for new investments either in entrepreneurship or in the use of natural resources. /p.s./

Prime Minister Edi Rama shared today on social media photos of the new Dibra waterworks, which according to him, “Now, has the long-awaited 24 hours of drinking water stemming from Grama highlands, into the taps of 36 thousand residents of Peshkopia and the surrounding villages”.

The water springs from Grama Highlands, in Mount Korabi at an altitude of 2345 m.

The infrastructure of the water supply network in this region was built in 1967. Specifically, the water supply system of Luzina was built in 1967, while that of Korabi was built in 1982.

Due to the amortized infrastructure, the inhabitants of these areas were supplied with water only 3-4 hours a day during the drought period, while half of the inhabitants of the city of Peshkopia were supplied 8-10 hours a day.

The government’s investments in water infrastructure are aimed at guaranteeing uninterrupted water supply with modern standards.

The water sector is 1 of the 5 strategic priorities of the Albanian government, aiming to improve the quality of life of citizens, as well as sustainable economic development. /m.m/j.p/p.s./

Deputy Prime Minister, at the same time Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku assured the citizens that there will be no electricity restrictions. Balluku’s statement was made during the inspection of the works in lot 7 of the Great Ring Road of Tirana.

“There will be no restrictions on electricity supply, just as we do not want to apply the 800 kW band,” said Balluku.

Therefore, according to the deputy prime minister, much depends on the weather, as we need rain.

The 800 kW band for all household electricity consumers was scheduled to enter into force on October 1, but the decision was postponed, as there was an improvement in the energy situation in the country./r.e/p.s./

A press release issued by KEK reads that thanks to the mutual cooperation with KESH, from the deposited amount of over 120,000 MW/h, which was scheduled to be returned to Kosovo during the winter, KEK has managed to provide electricity for certain period of time at peak hours, when consumption in Kosovo is increasing.

Yesterday, KEK received from KESH the quantity of 100 MW/h from 14:00-24:00, a total of 1100 MW/h, while today it is also provided with 100 MW/h from 10:00-22:00 hrs, in total 1200 MW/h.

In addition, KEK has made a request to KESH that, based on the capacities they have available, this situation will continue in the following days until the responsible actors fulfill their obligations according to the license./p.s./

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, thanks to this work and the cooperation between Kosovo and Albania, namely the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) and the Albanian Electricity Corporation (KESH), it was made possible to avoid cuts beginning from 14:00 and to continue the regular supply of electrical energy.

“Institutions will continue to make maximum efforts to maintain regular electricity supply during the coming days. However, considering the situation, all citizens and businesses are requested to take saving measures and be as careful as possible in the use of electricity. The cooperation with Albania will be followed by other measures to address the energy crisis and the state of emergency we are in,” the statement reads./p.s./