Prime Minister Edi Rama and Turkey’s Environment and Urbanisation Minister Murat Kurum, accompanied by the Minister of State for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj, attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the 520 houses to be built for the families that lost their homes in the earthquake on November 26 last year in Kurbin municipality, north-western Albania. Reconstruction Minister Ahmetaj affirmed the initial 160 apartments will be handed over to the quake-affected families by next March and construction of the remaining housing units will complete within July-August period. The Turkish side has also taken over to rehabilitate a local flooding torrent flowing through the area where the reconstruction project is being implemented.

PM Rama praised progress of the works as part of the post-earthquake reconstruction project in the area, underlining the importance of the town’s development. The Reconstruction Program – the Premier went on saying – also includes construction of the new hospital and the municipal building in Kurbin.

The so-called Zone 1 of the new residential neighbourhood in Laç is funded by the government of Turkey, and the Zone 2 project is funded by the Albanian government.

Zone 1 includes 524 apartments, 37 service units, 375 parking places, a shopping centre, service units and contemporary infrastructure up to the European standards.