The Albanian Road Authority (ARRSH) has announced the winning companies for lots 3 and 4 for the road segment Elbasan - Qafë Thana, which is part of pan-European Corridor VIII. 

For lot 3 of the road, the works will be implemented by company 2T, which was selected with an offer of Lek 2.11 billion, from Lek 2.5 billion which was the limit fund made available.

Meanwhile, for lot 4, the winner was the company A.N.K with an offer of Lek 2.08 billion, while the limit fund for this segment was Lek 2.5 billion. 

Together with these procedures, ARRSH has concluded the tenders for four lots of this road segment, where the works have already started for lots 1 and 2. The least advanced stage for this segment is the section from Bushtrica to the new customs point with North Macedonia, which is currently in the design phase.

?The winner of the tender was announced a few weeks ago, and the implementation project will be ready in more than 18 months. Only after it is ready will the tendering procedures for its construction be carried out. At the same time, the bypass road of Elbasan is being designed, which according to the contractual terms should be ready in 2024. As for the rest of Corridor VIII, which is the segment from Lekaj to Elbasan, which is currently in the tendering phase for its design.

In 2021, Bulgaria, Albania, and North Macedonia signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to build sustainable infrastructure along pan-European Corridor VIII, committing to completing the remaining parts of the transport route by 2030.

In the MoC, North Macedonia pledges to complete the railway line from Kumanovo to Kriva Palanka and to build a new railway connection from Kriva Palanka to the border with Bulgaria.

Albania plans to rehabilitate the Tirana-Durres railway line and build a new railway section to Mother Teresa International Airport. It will also rehabilitate the railway line from Durres to Lin and build a railway link from Lin to the border with North Macedonia.

The Pan-European Transport Corridor VIII is an east-west route, connecting the Albanian Adriatic port of Durres to the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna via North Macedonia. Pan-European transport corridors are major international traffic arteries, which will help each rail and road, sometimes combined, for the economic exchange of goods and recovery in Eastern Europe.