Interventions in several tourist areas in the country that are part of the government's project financed by a World Bank loan are expected to be completed before summer 2026.

A recent assessment of the progress of the World Bank’s project for urban integration and tourism development highlights the progress achieved and the ongoing phases.

“The initial loan closed on July 31, 2025, with all civil works completed in the four project municipalities: Berat, Permet, Gjirokastra, and Saranda. Under the additional financing loan, the implementation of works is still ongoing, including the works for the integrated urban improvement in Ksamil, the integrated urban improvement in Orikum, the construction of the Borsh tourist route, the restoration of the Kanina castle, the Borsh castle, and the Spille cave, as well as the construction of the Saranda underwater museum. All works are expected to be completed by June 2026,” the World Bank report noted.

The project with the World Bank has four components: the first for infrastructure improvement and urban redevelopment with a total of USD 80.5M.

The second component is the improvement of tourist sites worth USD 9.4M. The third is the tourism market and product development worth USD 10.1M, and the last is implementation support worth USD 5.3M.

This project aims to improve urban infrastructure, strengthen tourism assets, and increase institutional capacity to support local economic development related to tourism in selected areas in Southern Albania.

According to the World Bank report, the overall progress of the project is assessed as satisfactory and has managed to have an impact in the areas where interventions have been carried out, resulting in the creation of 2 new tourism-related jobs.