The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy reacted on Monday through a press release after several articles in the media regarding the delayed project for the revival of the Vlora Thermal Power Plant. The ministry explained the whole ordeal of the efforts that have been undertaken to put it into operation.

The Energy Ministry describes the initial project of Vlora TPP as a failed project inherited from the government before 2013 while listing international studies and steps taken over the years to solve the problem of the faulty design of its cooling system.

“It is easy to come out today and say that the government has 13 million euros to fix a technological error that cost the country millions of euros, but it is good to refresh the memory of the writing investigators since the energy system of the country is treated as a whole and not as isolated islands between production, transmission, and distribution. In 2013, the Albanian electricity system was in its most difficult situation, on the verge of a collapse, not only technical as in the 2000s, but now also financial,” said the Ministry in a press release.

The Ministry said that together with the Power Corporation KESH has not left the Vlora TPP out of the attention, but has engaged with all their capacities since 2013 to find opportunities for putting the TPP into operation. “Two international reports from specialized consultants have been provided as a result of this commitment, one in 2017 by ECA (Economic Consulting Association) and the other in 2018 by "Roland Berger".

Both reports suggest the operation of the Vlora TPP with gas supplied through the connection with the TAP pipeline.

In March 2017, a commitment agreement was signed between the Albanian Government and TAP for the development of the gas market and the agreement for domestic benefits.

Through this agreement, TAP engaged in the construction of the exit point in the area of Fier according to the agreed basic technical data. For the implementation of this commitment, an Agreement for Cooperation and the delivery of the exit point south of Fier was signed between MIE and TAP on July 09, 2021.

Through this agreement, the TAP project company will build at its own expense the exit point in Fier, the point at which the gas transmission infrastructure, part of the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), will be connected to Vlora, which will be owned by the public company Albgaz.

The development of this infrastructure, after the signing of the agreement, was negatively conditioned by a very important factor, that of the war in Ukraine and the impact it had on the energy markets, in particular electricity and gas.

The commissioning of the Vlora TPP is closely connected with the Fier-Vlora gas pipeline.

AlbGaz is currently working on updating the Fier-Vlora pipeline project, which will also serve the Vlora TPP according to the above-mentioned recommendations.

At the end of 2018, an international competition was held for the "Rehabilitation and commissioning of the Vlora Thermal Power Plant as well as the construction of the Fier-Vlora pipeline for its gas supply". This procedure was not successful, as the submitted offers did not comply with the criteria set out in the R.O.O.T. form concession/PPP documents.

In the context of cooperation with the USA and the development of the gas sector in Albania, in 2021, MIE signed a memorandum of understanding with the American companies ExxonMobil and Excelerate Energy for the integrated project of the revitalization of the Vlora TPP and its gas supply through floating liquid gas terminal in the bay of Vlora.

The problems stemming from the failed project from the start and then superimposed with other factors such as the global energy crisis and the war in Ukraine, have made it even more difficult to find a quick solution.

Beyond all these objective difficulties, the possibilities of integrating the initial Vlora TPP project with the natural gas infrastructures that are being planned to be developed in the country, have already created the necessary climate and the right spaces to revitalize the energy park of Vlora.