Second phase of the project to construct 900 individual houses kicked off in Durres today, with the majority of them expected to open their doors to  the quake-affected families by end of the year. In Manze alone, where PM inspected the ongoing work for construction of the new house of a family of nine members, a total 280 houses are being built under the reconstruction programme following the devastating earthquake that hit the country on Nov 26 last year. A total of 300 other houses are set to be built in the area of Ishem, Durres Municipality.

The nine members of the family will soon move into the new 3+1 house, which is set to be a much bigger, stronger, safer and stronger home than the one severely damaged because of the earthquake. PM Rama said that utmost efforts are being made to make sure that the quake-affected families move into their new houses as soon as possible. “We will do whatever it takes and nobody will be left homeless. Quite the opposite, will move into new houses that offer much better housing conditions,” PM Rama said.

In the meantime, a number of apartment buildings are set to be constructed in Manze with the due procurement procedures slated to be launched next week, the Minister of State for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj said. “This area and the village of Thumane are the two areas worst-hit by the deadly earthquake last year,” the Minister noted.

“What happened was really devastating, but, fortunately, thanks to the work we have done and the opportunities we have created we were able to cover the cost of a part of the reconstruction programme. The rest, mainly the school buildings, will be jointly covered by the state budget and the international donors. Construction of schools and the houses that have been already built was covered by the state budget. The apartment buildings in Durres will be constructed in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates as the Crown prince has showed his readiness. We will complete construction of all these projects, yet it takes patience and time, because many people wrongly ask ‘where are all these projects.” But one has to wait for the designs, the due procedures and the construction contracts. The country was hit by the pandemic and the total lockdown and it delayed the process. If the pandemic was not to happen, then all these projects would have completed by now and all those with individual houses would have moved into new homes by New Year’s Eve. We won’t be able to complete all of them ahead of the end of the year, but this will be case for a majority of the quake-affected families that will celebrate New Year’s Eve in their new better, larger and safer homes,” PM Rama said.