Tirana. On 12 April, an intergovernmental agreement was signed between the Albanian Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Edmond Haxhinasto, and the Ambassador of Italy in Tirana, Alberto Cutillo, at the Ministry. Entitled “Project Facility for Feasibility Studies and Final Level Designs in the Infrastructure Sector,” the agreement allocates 2 million euro, to be used for feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, and design studies for certain road works. These include the doubling of the Milot-Scutari segment, to reinforce the key north-south axis toward Montenegro, the Vaqarr-Kavaje segment (Municipality of Tirana), and the Elbasan By-pass—which directly concerns the trajectory of the east-west axis, since the city is located along the Durazzo – Qafe Thane route. These segments form part of Pan-European Corridor VIII, one of ten such corridors designed to favour the movement of people and goods in Eastern and Central Europe. The initiative also finances technical assistance activities at the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. In addition to fitting within Corridor VIII, the initiative is also in line with the Albanian government’s own sector priorities, as well as with the strategy defined between the EU and the Albanian government. (9colonne)
