Emergency

TAP Concludes Work on Access Roads and Bridges in the Korça Region

Date

TAP concluded works for the rehabilitation of access roads and bridges in one of the most remote areas of the Korça Region.

Tirana, Albania. Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) concluded works for the rehabilitation of access roads and bridges in one of the most remote areas of the Korça Region. On 7 November, the Deputy Prime Minister Niko Peleshi, the deputy Minister of Energy and Industry Ilir Bejtja, the Korça Mayor Sotiraq Filo, the Korça Prefect Ardit Konomi, and TAP Albania managers organised a site visit to see the improved infrastructure first-hand. 

As foreseen, the first phase of works to improve road infrastructure along the pipeline route in the Korça region was completed before the start of winter. The TAP project has upgraded or built approximately 15.5 km of roads and 9 bridges, connecting the remote mountainous areas of Korça with the urban centres. As a result, the most remote areas, such as the Shtylla village now have a direct connecting to the city as well as surrounding villages.

“The new road has relieved us of isolation and we are no longer afraid to travel to Korça. Now we can sell our goods in Korça, and send our children to school without fear. We also hope that the inhabitants of the village that had left come back, because we are no longer isolated from the rest of the world,” said the members of the Shtylla village community during a meeting with government representatives.

The standards of the new road infrastructure are high, making the transport of goods and people easier and safer regardless of the very challenging mountainous terrain that reaches heights up to 1,800 meters above sea level.

  • 9 bridges and approximately 15.5 km of roads have been refurbished or rebuilt in Korça
  • 150,000 m3 of excavations were undertaken
  • 90,000 m3 of gravel have been used
  • 2 bridges and 53 civil works projects have been built 
  • An area of 7,000 m2 of slopes have been stabilised
  • 7,570 m3 of concrete gravity walls have been built
  • 37,000 m2 of erosion  protection (grass)

This road infrastructure will facilitate the transport of pipes and equipment necessary for construction activities and will also assist the development of surrounding local communities and businesses.

The overall work for the first phase of road infrastructure rehabilitation along the whole TAP pipeline route comprising 12 roads and 42 bridges (2 of them being new) started in the summer 2015 and more than 96% of the total works have now been completed. The work has been completed using over 99% Albanian workers.