Brussels, 07/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - In Tirana, Albania, on Friday 4 June, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Albanian government signed an agreement to rehabilitate the secondary and local roads network. With a total amount of €50 million, this is the largest financing operation ever signed by the EIB in Albania.
The project is part of an ongoing programme of rehabilitation of 1,500 km of secondary and local roads all over the country which includes design, construction and supervision in Albania. The main goals are improvement of the transport conditions in the rural areas; facility in access to marketplaces and administrative, educational and health services; and boosting opportunities for economic, agricultural and tourist development through the provision of asphalted roads.
The total cost of this project is around €140 million, co-financed with the European Commission and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the projects falls under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF), which will provide grant financing to support technical assistance and investments. The rehabilitation secondary roads programme is managed by the Albanian Development Fund. (O.L./transl.fl)