Urban transformation continues along key corridors, roads, and areas that are important not only in terms of infrastructure, but also for the economic, agricultural, and agritourism development they support. One such example is the Kombinat – Ndroq – Plepa road, a project currently in its first phase of reconstruction. The project will unfold over three phases, and includes the reconstruction of the Beshiri Bridge, which will eliminate all sharp turns, significantly improving road safety.
Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the construction site of this road today, accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku.“We are currently in the first phase of rehabilitating the Kombinat–Plepa road. This is a highly important project not only from an infrastructure standpoint, but also for the development of this area, given its significant agricultural activity and growing focus on agritourism. The road spans approximately 28 kilometers. In the first phase, we are covering 5 kilometers, or to be precise, 4.8 km. We are currently at the final stretch of this phase, with about 1.6 km nearly completed.
The most challenging aspect for us has undoubtedly been the underground infrastructure. We’ve had to collaborate with OSHEE and the Tirana Municipality’s water and sewage services to carry out the relocation and widening works for this road.
From what was once a rural road, it is now being transformed into a Category C Road. The total width of the roadbed will be 12.5 meters, with two lanes each measuring 3.75 meters, thus qualifying it as a Category C Road and allowing for travel speeds ranging between 50 and 100 km/h,” explained Deputy Prime Minister Balluku, adding that a completely new bridge will be built in the Ura e Beshirit area.
“An important aspect is that although the original route is being preserved in its entirety, in the area of Ura e Beshirit a completely new bridge will be built, thus eliminating the sharp curves currently present in that section. The bridge is being constructed under the World Bank’s bridge project, which this year also includes the Viroi Bridge and the Vjosa Bridge.
Meanwhile, due to the good progress of the works, we aim to complete the first phase — the initial 5 kilometers — by December. In the 2026 budget, we have allocated funding for the remaining two phases, which cover a total of 15 kilometers, and the project will continue accordingly.
This is one of the few construction sites where traffic continues to flow, as you can see. Progress has been very positive — we’ve completed 30% of the total volume — and the complexity here is quite high because, as you can see, the company continues working while traffic is still moving, since there is no parallel route. We are within the planned timeline, and as I mentioned, we may even finish ahead of schedule. The official deadline is May 2026, but our goal is to complete this first phase by New Year’s Eve 2025,” said Deputy Prime Minister Balluku.
For his part, Prime Minister Rama emphasized that this road corridor holds particular importance due to the emergence of several new agritourism destinations developing along its path.
“It is one of the most requested road corridors, and its time has finally come. This will be a road with a clear touristic profile, due in part to the surrounding area where agritourism ventures have already begun to emerge. We firmly believe that the development of agritourism will have a highly positive impact—not only on the economy of the capital but also on the local household economy—because this is a region that stands to benefit greatly from the growth of tourism and the increasing flow of visitors traveling toward either Tirana or Durrës,” he stated.
