Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama at the ceremony held on the occasion of the installation of the Banjë hydropower plant, and of the inauguration of the road connecting Gramsh to Banjë:
This is one of those moments that create hope and optimism based on the future.
It is a historic moment for all of this area, which today feels liberated from the nightmare of isolation.
Starting today, a new path is opened towards the future to make this area one of the most visited areas of our country in the coming years, due to its natural and tourism potential, something that has been only a dream, an illusion so far.
This moment is the result of an exemplary cooperation between the Albanian government and one of the most prominent companies in the world in the sector of the energy development.
“There can be no sustainable development without sustainable energy development”, Margot Wallström, a prominent Swedish politician said. Sorry, I couldn’t find a more convenient quotation from a Norwegian politician.
The hydropower plant of Banjë is the first completed work on the major project of the Devoll hydropower cascade. Approximately 2 thousand employees have been employed hitherto, and the capacity of the hydropower reservoir has a total volume of 400 billion litters of water in an area of 14 square kilometres, and since we are a very fond of football, the surface equals 2 thousand football fields.
In the end, the project will have an installed capacity that increases by 17% the overall capacity of the country’s energy production. But to us it is very important that the realism of this work has organically linked all administrative units and villages along the new road to Gramsh. This work is a fantastic example of how private interest generates energy and profit on the one hand, and on the other hand the whole community gains a new quality of life.
Approximately 100 kilometres of new roads have been built and are being concluded in this area only. I emphasize this to all those who listen to the leitmotiv that “no new road has been made in these 3 years”. In this area only, there are 100 kilometres of new roads, to be precise 97 kilometres and 14 bridges, among which the longest bridge in Albania today with its 520 meters, which is a work of truly excellent engineering, a bridge that provides a fantastic view of the new lake.
We had a long discussion on the future last night with our friends at Statkraft, and one of the points of discussion was that the lake needs a name. The debate is whether it should be called the lake of Norway or the lake of Devoll, but this is up to local authorities to solve.
This work has had a direct and comprehensive social impact, but also a concrete one on the displacement of families living in houses which today are new and with much better standards, on the construction of a new school, and on the starting of a process of radical environmental transformation in this area.
Some 250 hectares of forest are recovered, and new fishing opportunities are opened in the area. The river waters of Devoll are eventually disciplined, chronic flooding in the area is avoided once and for all, and new irrigation opportunities are created for the fields of Myzeqe.
Two new water suppliers are built, 10 km long each, for the municipalities of Gramsh and Cërrik, and the road already connecting Gramsh with the rest of the world is completed, starting with Tirana which today can be reached in less than 90 minutes. Whereas, until yesterday, in order to reach Gramsh you needed not only at least a three hour drive, but you spine had to be in optimal condition, and this marks a guaranteed transformation because of the understanding we found with the company. Let us not forget that we inherited a signed contract and an explosive social situation that was a real threat to the progress of the investment, and on the other hand, a large question mark over this situation, starting from the road.
Thanks to the company’s flexibility, as it was earlier mentioned, a company that is a radiant example of social responsibility, and thanks to the joint contribution of the government and of the company, upon negotiations – and in this regard it was fortunate that the minister of energy is an MP of this area, for he was negotiating also his future in the relationship with this area, being it clear that hadn’t he solved the road problem here, he couldn’t come back and in the same time we would have to face a very important situation in social terms. But it was the social responsibility of the company and the insistence of the Minister who made it possible for us to solve in a relatively short time, as our friend, the moderator of the such a pleasant event said, in 2014 it took some negotiation, and are here today, everybody is happy.
The company is happy, the community is happy because this good work was beneficial to everybody, differently from what we have unfortunately seen often in many years, and still continue to deal with open wounds caused by the fact that one benefits form something and many others lose.
The challenge remains open because, as our distinguished leader and our friend at this company underlined, we should definitely go forward with the implementation of reform in the energy sector.
The reform began with the disciplining of the relationship between energy consumers and the distribution company, but the reform is far from being complete, since it actually aims at a free market of energy to make it possible also what the Statkraft leader underlined, in order for the production of this work, this hydropower complex or other hydropower stations to be beneficial to the Albanian consumers directly, not indirectly, but also for power not to go entirely for export.
For this, thanks also to the precious help by Statkraft and to the highly appreciated support by the Norwegian government, we are engaged in one of the largest companies globally, the Norwegian company NORDPOOL for creating the energy stock and for the full integration of the energy market, from a completely closed and problematic market, a sort of jungle where the law was with the strongest, not with the best, in a regional market.
The future is very promising for Albania and the Albanians, for they own a great asset, our hydropower potential. But in order to transform this promising future in an economic and social reality transformed by the exploitation of this potential, and in order for Albanians to be co-owners of this great asset, we need definitely to create and be actors in the regional market, which makes Albania’s energy sector, an asset from which the whole society can benefit. But in the end, this investment has had and has also a tremendous value in terms of culture and knowledge.
This is not only a hydropower complex, but it is a school for local specialists who are now qualified and integrated into the management of this work, which is the latest item of contemporary technology.
Before we came here, we met some guys who until yesterday were jobless, and today are highly qualified specialists participating in the administration of the work. It is one of those works that can be defined out and loud the personification of a successful investment which, as John Keynes says, means anticipating those who precede.
Gratitude to all those who contributed to the realization of this work. We eagerly await the implementation of the rest of the work, while today this work begins to produce 100% clean energy.
