Another new residential neighbourhood is being built from scratch in the village of Ndroq, Tirana Municipality, under the post-earthquake reconstruction programme and the project is slated to complete this fall. The project also includes construction of a kindergarten, a new school and a community centre.

Everything has been designed and set up from scratch to build a neighbourhood completely different from the previous village, where the old scattered dwellings collapsed or sustained serious structural damages due to the devastating earthquake that hit Albania on November 26, 2019.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, accompanied by the Minister of State for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj, and the Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj, toured the construction site of the new residential complex today.

“The first time we visited the site, we actually inspected the other corner of the neighbourhood. Construction work has now been expanded on another plot, where 74 new homes are being built,” Tirana Mayor Veliaj said, who explained that a number of old existing buildings will be rehabilitated and integrated into the new residential complex. 

“We have offered a solution to accommodate the households, whose existing dwellings are located somehow in the middle of this site and their homes have not been demolished. In the end, these old houses will be rehabilitated to combine aesthetically with the new houses,” Veliaj added.

Construction of the new residential neighbourhood in Ndroq is scheduled to complete this fall and around 350 families will be grouped in this central neighbourhood, providing local residents quick access to services.

“The capacity of the new residential neighbourhood is four times as large as the complex being built in Vaqarr, given that the hilly areas in Ndroq have been worst hit and affected by the earthquake. Therefore, a large part of the families will be relocated from the hilly areas bordering Durres municipality, to move into this new complex adjacent to the main national road. It is one of the areas, where close cooperation has been crucial given the tough hilly terrain between Tirana and Kavaje as construction of a new school and civil urban infrastructure it has been really an ordeal. Relocation of these families to the urban area is an extraordinary bonus,” Veliaj said.