January 10 (SeeNews) - Albania's Durres Port Authority (DPA) said it will open a tender for the construction of a new cargo port in the Adriatic city in the first quarter of 2024.
The first stage of the project has been granted a building permit following successful completion of the detailed design of the new facility, DPA said in a social media post on Tuesday.
The detailed design was carried out by a consortium comprising Dutch engineering firm Royal HaskoningDHV and Albanian consultancy firm Abkons, the government said earlier.
The new port will be built in the Porto Romano area in Durres' northwestern part. The existing port in the city's southern area will accommodate a new 2 billion euro ($2.2 billion) residential and marine project by United Arab Emirates-based real estate developer Emaar.
DPA has also initiated consultations with NATO for the construction of a naval base in the Porto Romano area, a project that could be be co-financed by Albania and NATO, DPA added.
The new port in Porto Romano will be connected with a dry port in Kosovo’s capital Pristina by a railway and a dry port in North Macedonia’s Struga, DPA said earlier. A dry port is a facility located in the interior parts of a country, equipped for the handling, storage, and processing of import and export cargo.
The Albanian government has earmarked 43 billion leks ($450 million/412 million euro) in the 2024 budget for the new Durres port construction, it said earlier. Some 26 billion leks have been planned to finance construction costs in 2025 and 2026, when the project is set to complete.
($=0.914 euro)