TIRANA (Albania), April 7 (SeeNews) – Albania’s infrastructure minister Belinda Balluku said on Tuesday that the opening of a new 22 km bypass road in the city of Fier originaly scheduled for May 1 has been delayed by the coronavirus crisis until later that month.
Works on the project resumed on March 31 after a two-week suspension imposed in compliance with the government's measures for preventing the spread of the coronavirus disease, Balluku said in a video file posted on Facebook.
The road, which was partially opened to ease traffic last summer, was completely closed as of January 27 in order to accelerate the project's implementation, the Albanian Road Authority, ARRSH, said in January.
In late 2018, ARRSH signed a 38 million euro ($41.0 million) contract with Kuwait's Combined Group Contracting for the construction of the bypass road following a tender procedure. The winner of the tender has been approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank which are financing the project.
The Fier bypass is a key section of Albania's road network. It will connect major roads such as the Levan-Tepelene and Levan-Vlora roads.
($ = 0.92555 euro)