Author: Aurora SHPATAJ
Its change, as it is currently happening, without a feasibility (reliability) study, is unacceptable and outside the standards that the Albanian government itself has approved and completely contrary to the national interest. The project requires its re-evaluation and before carrying out mandatory partial implementation projects. So, a study should be carried out, as we mentioned above, full of feasibility, that would correctly determine the best alternative from an economic point of view, and why not, socially, politically, etc.j."- this is how engineer Faruk Kaba begins his story about corridor 8.
Corridor 8 is one of the country's most important projects, because it develops all the cities it passes through. In the first studies, it was predicted that this corridor will cross the southern Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi, the ports of Durrës and Vlora, pass through the capitals of Tirana, Skopje, Sofia, ending in the Bulgarian ports of Burgas and Varna. According to engineer Faruk Kaba, Corridor 8 has been studied several times over the years, according to the only rational alternative, which develops it in the Shkumbin Valley, passes through a tunnel of about 2,8 km in Qafë - Thane and after this tunnel is divided into two main directions:
1) From Qafë - Thana in the territory of North Macedonia, in Skopje, Burgas and Varna in the Black Sea;
2) The other direction from Qafë-Thana to Korçë, Kapshticë, Thessaloniki and Istanbul. According to the engineer, corridor 8 is not only important for Albania. Its realization will have a great interest not only economically, but also strategically for some member countries of the European Union and will turn Albania into a key country in the international road network.
Sa is the cost of the corridat 8 o'clock in Albanianre?
According to a press release of the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku dated April 3, 2023, the minister stated that corridor 8 has a new exit in North Macedonia.
"We have also been helped by the whole situation helped in Ukraine, since Corridor 8 is an access corridor for all the security of Europe and the national security of all countries, since it connects the Mediterranean Sea with the part of the Black Sea, thus creating a security corridor high. Here we have concrete achievements and this must be said. The Albanian government, MIE, have already started work on the construction of Corridor 8 with the first lot of the Elbasan-Qafë Thane road"
The engineer tells "Sinjalizo" that the project which is being tried to be implemented in our country is very expensive from an economic point of view.
"The project that is currently being undertaken is quite inflexible from an economic point of view, it is very expensive (at least 150 million Euros), but above all completely out of our interest. As is clear, the standards and all the rules, officially approved, which very clearly define such a thing, have been violated. "
He says that this project will mean that the southeast of our country will not be connected to the highway of corridor 8, and as a result, to go to Pogradec, Korça, we must first pass through North Macedonia.
"Even if our neighbors (Macedonia) had requested this changed version of this corridor, there was no need to even consider it, as it contradicts what was decided before and above all our interest. According to this idea, without real and unstudied engineering content and logic, Albanian citizens (and not only), to pass from other regions of the country, in the direction of 'Pogradec-Korcë-Kapështicë' and beyond, will have to to pass compulsorily, first in Macedonia. This is completely absurd not to use the technical, professional expression "stupidity" or "idiocy". The professional study that the standards impose would solve this absurdity. "
Engineer Fisnik Kruja holds the same position, who says that this project has serious problems.
"According to this variant, the connection with the highway of an important part of the territory of South-Eastern Albania (Pogradec, Maliq, Bilisht, Kapshticë) and moreover the perspective of the connection with the Greek territory, where the highway up to our border has already been completed. The connection with the highway with Kapshtican is of interest especially for Italy, but also for Turkey. "
The engineer says to "Signalizo" that this project risks losing a lot if the studied project changes.
"On the political level, first, the Republic of Albania loses sovereignty over one of the country's two main Corridors, because the exit of the tunnel will be in the territory of a neighboring country. As a result, the circulation of funds may eventually be under the effect of the political mood of that country. "
Even the former Minister of Public Works Spartak Poçi, one of the ministers who closely dealt with the 8th corridor, says that the problems of this project is that the work started without a study.
"It has started to be built without a study, with what funds, with what study, has it been made public. We need a project on how to widen the roads, reduce the curves, a study is needed first, a financing scheme, an implementation project, feasibility study. "
Former minister Poçi says that every change in the corridor 8 project means that it will no longer be called as such.
"The path of the eighth corridor is defined, it cannot change, it should not, because then any change will mean that this project will no longer be called the eighth corridor".
Meanwhile, work on the construction of the eighth Corridor within the territory of Albania has begun at the exit of Elbasan. According to the bulletin of public announcements, in May 2023 a contract was signed "Study Design of the road axis 'Bushtricë - Corridor 8 Customs Point'," where the limit fund is ALL 49,990,353.04.
"Sinjalizo" sent a request for information to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy on this issue, if there is a feasibility study for corridor 8. Until the moment of publishing the article, the ministry has not responded.
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