The Municipality of Shijak has been transformed into another huge reconstruction site where work continues on daily basis to mitigate impact and rebuild private homes and apartment buildings ruined by the devastating earthquake of Nov 26 last year. Prime Minister Edi Rama, accompanied by the Minister of State for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj, and the Mayor of Shijak, visited the reconstruction sites to closely inspect the ongoing work to provide housing for every quake-affected family in the area, along with the needed power and water supply infrastructure, sewerage and wastewater systems, road signage, telephone and network communications infrastructure, as well as six new school buildings up to the European standards.
The demolition of the quake-damaged homes and earthwork and sites preparation for construction of the new apartment buildings as part of the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction program kicked off two months ago in the Municipality of Shijak. “We are now at the stage of building the internal infrastructure, which will clear the way for the foundation work for construction of apartment buildings due to begin in first week of October,” Shijak Mayor said.
PM Rama underlined that every new dwelling, apartment building and urban infrastructure in Shijak and in every other new residential neighbourhood under construction will provide much better living spaces than prior to the Nov 26 earthquake. “This is an epochal transformation of the Municipality of Shijak and the project will take community living and services to an entirely new level,” the Premier said.
The Reconstruction Minister Ahmetaj said that project includes rehabilitation of some 80,000 square meters of infrastructure, a process that will herald the first week of October when the groundbreaking and foundation work is set to begin for construction of new apartment buildings. In addition to the apartment buildings and private homes, the project includes reconstruction of the damaged school buildings in the area. One of the six school buildings due to be reconstructed is the high school ‘ 16 Shtator’, which will be rebuild in compliance with the highest EU standards.” “Three school buildings in Shijak will be constructed by the UNDP through the EU grants,” Ahmetaj said.
“This represents an opportunity to clarify and provide some explanations to some who keep asking where the international donations have ended up. It is the international partners who manage their own money. It is not cash money delivered to Albania and the Albanian authorities, but it is about funds managed by the EU itself through its structures and according to its procedures to react and meet the demands as soon as possible. We have carried out a series of special procedures and we have drastically cut the time these procedures take, allowing us to speed up the reconstruction process and launch the construction sites to rebuild houses and schools,” the Premier noted.
PM Rama also commented on the most recent debate about Greece’s plans to expand its territorial waters by six nautical miles. “Sadly enough there are still people who believe that those who signed the notorious agreement that we turned down and that was cancelled by the Constitutional Court are now claiming they are defending the sea from us. What everyone should realize is that no agreement has been reached. The negotiations have been suspended since a new government took office in Greece and not only that but the negotiating team itself will have to be reformatted. And this goes through the president of the Republic who will approve it. That is why to say today that I am transparent about something that does not exist, is ridiculous and very dirty. However, I am confident about one thing that just because this people is very wise, whoever using this situation by thinking that people are stupid, they will suffer and deal a heavy blow by making up stories like this one about the supposed maritime agreement,” the Premier said.
