Additional funds for the Levan-Vlore road

Olldashi listed three reasons why the cost changed. He said that the administration of the former Socialist government has miscalculated the total cost.

“The project made in the time of the Socialist Party had a material error of 4.9 million EUR. Socialist MP Artan Gaci declared that the Road Directory should be penalized. If we want to penalize someone, let’s penalize the Socialist leaders of this Ministry in that time. The project did not include the stabilizer layer, which is necessary for the longevity of the road and that demands 2 million EUR”, Olldashi declared.

Another reason, according to Olldashi, is related with the climate changes in the Vjose River.

“7 years after the planning, the Vjose River has increased its quota and the bridges of Vjose and Ferras need reinforcements that cost 3 million EUR”, Olldashi declared.

Olldashi also rejected the accusations that the government has favored one of the contractors of the road that is led by people close to him.

“There have been speculations that the subcontractors decided the winner. This is not true, because the procedure received the approval of European Banks. By request of the Ministry of Roads, the main subcontractor, Alban-Tirana, left the project due to the failure to fulfill the works in the program of 2009”, Olldashi declared.

As for the review of the cost due to the inflation, the Minister of Transports declared that this was obligatory by the foreign banks that financed the project. The Levan-Vlore road has turned into one of the longest construction projects in Albania.

It started as a project in 2004, and the tender was given in 2007, with a price of 42 million EUR. The project was delayed after some problems with the construction company and the environmental effects, making the cost to reach 60 million EUR.

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