The Urban Renaissance sites have been extended also in the centre and neighbourhoods of Cërrik. The urban remediation of the city square which has been transformed into a promenade area, the rehabilitation of facades, a new lighting system and the greenery are transforming completely the looks the city has had to date. Accompanied by Mayor Altin Toska and MPs of Elbasan County, Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected the works for the remediation of the centre.
“We have envisaged a promenade, the repairing of the facades, the remediation around the square, lighting and greenery. Also, we will put a clock in the city square. In the second phase, we will continue with the boulevard all the way to the high school “Tomor Sinani”. Within a month we will finish also the park for children. The impact is huge, it has given citizens hope”, Mayor Toska said about the project.
“A major transformation for the citizens. It creates a different atmosphere and gives a different meaning to the community. The price of apartments and business units has increased”, the Prime Minister said about a project that, like in all other cities and centres where Urban Renaissance has been extended, revives the city life and economy.
Even in Cërrik, the Prime Minister faced the same absurd and abusive problem, the legalization of the buildings on the sidewalk, which have become a barrier for the citizens. “It is one of the 8 legalizations [a building on the sidewalk] made in Cërrik during the eight years of the previous government. 365 legalizations were made across Elbasan during the past eight years, one of them is this building”, MP Balla said, in addition to noting that these legalizations were mostly for locals and motels.
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Urban Renaissance has revalued Belsh and the 85 surrounding lakes as a national tourist attraction. In addition to the construction of a square covering an area of approximately 6.000 square metres, the unification of facades, lighting, greening, the building of fountains and a small dock, Urban Renaissance has included also the demolition of 30 buildings that were suffocating the lake. The promenade project envisages also the construction of a bicycle lane around the lake and park on its eastern side. This is the largest investment in Belsh funded by the government in these 25 years.
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The reconstruction of the highway Cerrik – Ure Vajgurore has begun. Divided into 3 lots, it is expected to reduce by 20 km the distance from Berat to Tirana. The Prime Minister inspected the works in the lot Belsh-Valshuk which connects 10 villages of the administrative unit Kajan. The project manager informed that although works had started since 2007, they were interrupted, and as a consequence the road had degraded even further. Now it is being treated with the same parameters of national highways.
“This is only the first segment of the highway Cërrik – Ure Vajgurore. The segment is 8.4 kilometres long, while the asphalted width is expected to be 9 metres. All urban areas will be within the parameters; they will have sidewalks, lighting and greenery. The other two segments are in the tendering stage, and they will move very soon to the implementation stage. The basis is there, but it’s in very poor conditions because the previous investment was abandoned. It has degraded, as it was left in such conditions for more than 8 years. It will be treated with all the parameters of a national highway, and it will revive the whole area.”
The Prime Minister emphasized the construction quality of the highway, not only as an important road segment to connect with Berat, but also for the interconnection of the agricultural area.
“It is important to do it well, with quality, and have it sustainable in the long term. That’s how we want our roads, not like they were made before. This road is very important, but unfortunately it was abandoned for many years. The truth is that the whole area is finally breathing. The Mayors of Belsh and Cerrik are doing a good job. The connection of the two municipalities is giving new energies to the whole area, it’s not just Urban Renaissance, mostly in the two main points of the municipalities. There’s also the connection with the exterior, so that the whole area will receive a new boost also in terms of production”.
MP Musa Ulqini noted another advantage that the area has from this road, which is the revaluation of the 85 lakes of Belsh, and the revitalization of Belsh as a tourist area. “This road will reduce the distance from Tirana to Berat by 20 kilometres; and by 40 kilometres from Elbasan to Berat. In addition, the 85 lakes of Belsh will be given a whole new revaluation in terms of their use and tourism”, MP Ulqini said.
