TIRANA (Albania), January 25 (SeeNews) – Albania's government has approved a draft law to start negotiations with a Turkish consortium for the construction of an airport in the city of Vlora - an investment estimated at 100 million euro ($123.5 million), infrastructure and energy minister Damian Gjiknuri said.
The draft legislation will be sent in Parliament for approval very soon and construction of the Vlora airport is expected to start later in 2018, Gjiknuri said in a press release late on Wednesday.
The offer of the consortium comprising Turkish construction companies Cengiz, Kalyon and Kolin will be evaluated in detail within a period of 90 days by a team of experts from the ministry of infrastructure and energy and the ministry of finance and economy who will then determine the next steps according to the legal procedures, the minister added.
The project will be completely privately-funded, Gjiknuri said, adding that when completed, Vlora airport will be Albania’s largest and most modern airport.
Vlora is Albania's second largest seaport after Durres. Currently, Albania's only operational airport is Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa.
Gjiknuri also said the government is exploring the opportunities to start the operation of the existing Kukes airport, in the northern part of the country, and is completing a feasibility study for the construction of a small airport near the southern coastal city of Saranda.
Vlora airport is expected to help Albania's economic development by fostering employment growth and giving a boost to the tourism sector in the south of the country, local media quoted Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama as saying earlier this month.
The number of foreign tourists who visited Albania in 2017 rose 23.6% on the year to 2.37 million, the country's statistical office, INSTAT, said on Tuesday.
($ = 0.80939 euro)