The reconstruction process in the municipality of Shijak is increasingly addressing the housing plight of local residents who become homeless because of the devastating earthquake that rattled Albania last November. Construction of more than 500 individual homes is heading towards completion and the quake-affected families will soon move into their newly-built homes of a very high standard and better than the houses they lost because of the earthquake. Prime Minister Edi Rama today travelled to the administrative unit of Xhafzotaj to visit the newly-built home of a local family. “This is a three bedroom house for a family of five. The family will soon move into the new 107-square meter house compared to the previous 90-square meter dwelling. The reconstruction programme is well underway in whole territory of Shijak municipality with 500 new houses currently being rebuilt. Specifically, construction of 15 new individual homes is about to complete in the village populated by Bosnian community,” Shijak Mayor Elton Arbana said.
Welcoming Prime Minister Rama, the house owner and the family head describes the new home as a “great reward”. “My previous house was my whole life-long journey, but the day has now come for me to be awarded this great reward. The entire family is happy that something is being done because our house has been dilapidated and perennial. We couldn’t afford building a new one. Building a home is not easy. The day has come for us to have our homes built without spending a single penny,” he said.
The government head noted that all quake-affected families entitled to benefit new housing will soon move into dwellings that meet contemporary construction and safety standards, offering much larger living spaces and much higher value than the one they lost due to the earthquake. “A better, larger and stronger house will be read y to welcome your family by end of October. A crisis is a really terrible thing, but it also offers an opportunity. This represents the opportunity to overcome the crisis and emerge stronger and better from the crisis. I have already stated since day one that we will do utmost efforts to emerge stronger from this crisis and indeed the families already moving or about to move to the new houses are all now stronger in terms of the much higher value of their new property. We couldn’t prevent the earthquake from happening, but we have pledged to do what we are already doing and will press ahead with the rebuilding programme to its end,” the Premier said.
PM Rama then inspected works to construct another two-bedroom house for a family of four.
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Urban infrastructure of new apartment block in Shijak heading towards completion
500 families will be housed in new apartments following the reconstruction of the residential neighborhood “Lugina” in Shijak, one of worst-hit areas because of the earthquake on Nov 26 last year, leaving hundreds of people homeless. “A spectacular project,” PM Rama described it as he inspected the reconstruction sites in Shijak, where 30 new apartment buildings will be built from scratch, along with a redesigned urban space, as well as six new schools.
Shijak Mayor Elton Arbana informed that work to construct the civil and urban infrastructure of the new neighborhood is heading towards completion, adding that the construction process commenced immediately after the demolition of the quake-damaged apartment buildings and removal of their ruins. The new “Lugina” residential block will be built on a 25 000-square meter site, which will also feature spacious park and green areas, and community service centers. “The disaster struck, but it was also a blessing upon Shijak. With the ongoing changes taking place, Shijak will also become a tourist destination for tourists during summer season,” the Premier said.
The work to construct new apartment buildings is set to begin within November, while construction of new individual houses is about to complete and the majority of the quake-affected families will celebrate the New Year’s Eve in their better, stronger and more beautiful homes.
