TIRANA (Albania), April 15 (SeeNews) – The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it is providing 11 million euro ($12.4 million) to finance a project for the regeneration of the Lana river area in Albania’s capital Tirana.
“The new investment is the bank’s first integrated urban regeneration project in the Western Balkans, encompassing several sectors including mobility, public transport, urban infrastructure and flood risk protection,” the bank said in a statement last week.
The Lana river project is the first operation under the economic resilience initiative (ERI) to receive an investment grant, the bank noted, adding that the grant, which is financed by ERI donor resources and valued at 2.4 million euro, is part of a comprehensive financial package from the EIB that also includes a 8 million euro loan and 500,000 euro in technical assistance.
According to the bank, the project will deliver benefits to around 65,000 people, of which 20,000 are local inhabitants who live on the banks of the Lana river.
At the same time, the EIB said it is opening a desk office at the EU Delegation in Tirana and appointing Alessandro Bragonzi as EIB representative for Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia.
($=0.88732 euro)