The Deputy Prime Minister, at the same time Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku declared on Tuesday that in December of this year, the competition for the construction of the Milot-Balldren road segment will be opened.

Balluku presented the investment plan from the budget for the coming year in the Parliamentary Committee on Economy and Finance and noted that the Milot-Balldren and Balldren-border with Montenegro segments will be part of the Blue Corridor concession.

“It is our priority. We have decided that starting in December, we will launch the tender, as we have done with the other parts of the Blue Corridor, and we will thus have the possibility that the segments Milot-Balldren and Balldren - the border with Montenegro, to be part of the concession of the Blue Corridor, as we have done with the segments Thumanë-Kashar, Kashar-Lekaj, or Lekaj-Fier," said Balluku.

The minister stated that fulfilling the conditions of the pan-European corridors remains a priority since both the Blue Corridor and Corridor 8 are part of the pan-European corridors and this government has fought to make these corridors popular. This is the second time that the competition for this concession has been opened.

Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that in 2024, the works for the expansion of the Tirana-Durrës highway will begin.

Balluku announced that the highway will be expanded with two lanes in each direction, where one of the lanes will be an emergency lane. She described this as one of the most important projects that will start implementation in the coming year.

According to Balluku, the Tirana-Durres highway will be transformed into a category A highway with four lanes in each direction. “After the deep analysis we have done, following the increased number of traffic on the Tirana-Durrës highway, which is connected by the most important industrial area of Albania that is already turning into an integrated city, started and by the fact that the implementation has started the first phase of the Durres Marina and what will happen with the new port of Durres, we have foreseen the expansion of the highway with two lanes on each side, one lane to be added to the existing road and one emergency lane," Balluku noted.

Furthermore, Balluku presented to the committee the investment plan for the year 2024.

Balluku stated that the capital expenditures for 2024 are calculated at Lek 55.8 billion, of which Lek 27.6 billion is internal financing and the rest is foreign financing.

Balluku also emphasized that investments in road transport next year are calculated at Lek 23.1 billion, in maritime transport investments are calculated at Lek 8.8 billion, in railway transport at Lek 4.2 billion, and in air transport Lek 27 million. "For the water supply and sewage system, Lek 11.5 billion will be invested, while a fund of Lek 3.2 billion is planned for the support of the energy sector. A fund of Lek 196 million has been provided for urban planning," the minister declared.

Balluku announced that by using European Union funds, special attention will be given to programs and projects that have been somewhat dormant in previous years.

"Road transport remains a priority of the government. Investment in this sector will provide maximum support for economic development, in terms of tourism or terms of industrial and urban development," she said.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that investments in the energy system serve the objective of transforming Albania into a net exporting country in 2029.