The detailed project of the new Port of Durrës in Porto Romano, its extension in Prishtina and the Durrës-Prishtina railway is expected to be completed within 2022.

This is what the Durrës Port Authority (APD) told Telegrafi.com about the new project initially presented by the Dutch company Royal Haskoning DHV in a meeting with the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama at the beginning of the month and then presented at the meeting of the governments of Albania and Kosovo held in Pristina on Monday.

According to the Port Authority, the project will accurately determine the work schedule and construction costs for the three infrastructure investments expected to connect the two countries, creating a new corridor to the Western Balkans.

“The strategy approved by the Albanian government envisages the progressive relocation of the current commercial ports (especially in Vlora and Durrës) to new, modern facilities and related to the road and railway, outside the urban areas; as well as the parallel development of the old ports in the development nodes of maritime tourism and the blue economy,” APD emphasized.

Pursuant to this strategy, APD has initially provided the study of technical and economic feasibility and the drafting of the comprehensive Master Plan of the Durrës - Porto Romano port areas, a plan which envisages the construction of a new commercial port in Porto Romano and an integrated logistics area.

The Port Authority added that through the international consultancy led by the Dutch company "Royal Haskoning DHV", a reputable economic operator in the field of port infrastructure, it has continued the work for the drafting of the detailed engineering project of the new Integrated Commercial Port of Durrës in Porto Romano, interconnection with the railway line, as well as the construction of a logistics terminal dedicated to Kosovo, for the processing of goods transported by sea (Dry port of Durres in Pristina).

"Our vision for the Dry Port, based on similar successful experiences in the ports of Northern Europe, is precisely to extend the function of the logistics hub of the new Port in Porto Romano to Kosovo, by better interconnecting sea and rail transport with regional Corridors 8 and 10 foreseen in the transport strategy of the European Union for the Balkans,” explained APD.