Built 1957, the United High School “Rrëmbec” in Maliq will open next year with completely new premises within all the standards. Due to the serious problems of its structure, the building was almost unusable by the over 300 students, 60 children of the kindergarten and 9 teachers attending it.

Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected the progress of the works for the new school. “We had an almost ruined building, while today it is totally new”, one of the students said.

The school has been built from scratch, with new classrooms, indoor and outdoor gym, and the required premises for the preschool cycle. Because of the severe winter conditions in this area, a central heating system has been installed.

“Benches here were made of reeds”, one teacher told the Prime Minister. One of the work leaders explained that they had to do everything from scratch. “We had to rebuild almost everything. The building was demolished and we have built a new school. It is a building of about 2200 square metres.”

“There is a central heating system with water heater and pellet”, the Mayor of Maliq, Gëzim Topçiu, told during the inspection.

The new sports grounds in the school yard will be accessible not only to students but also to the community of the area, with an aim at turning the school into a community centre.

For the mayor of Maliq, it is one of the best schools in Korça, a promise made in 2015, now a promise kept. We promised it in the elections of 2015, and I really thank the Prime Minister for supporting us. I’m telling you that this is one of the best schools in the district of Korca.”

“We couldn’t even think of having a new gym, let alone have the whole school reconstructed”, one of the students said enthusiastically.

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Farmers in the areas of Maliq and Korça will soon have solved their biggest problem, that of transporting agricultural and livestock products. Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected the works for the reconstruction of the road segment linking the intersection of the Korçë-Bilisht National Road with the villages of Terove, Rov, Rrëmbec, Orman, Kuç, Shamboll and Belorta, part of the Municipalities of Korça and Maliq. This completely outdated 8.5-km long road segment will ease the movement of over 20 thousand inhabitants of these villages within this summer, but above all it is expected to increase the trade of agricultural and livestock products in the area. It is the only bridge between farmers and the agricultural lands, and the only option to transport agricultural and livestock products for trade.

“It is part of the segment connecting Orman with the national road connecting Korça to Bilisht. It is a very important road segment that gets through the area of Maliq. There are about 8 km of roads which the Municipality of Maliq has asphalted through the Albanian government, with a fund of about 105 million ALL. Residents of Terove, Rëmbec and Orman had asked for it for 25 years, but nobody made it before”, Mayor of Maliq Gezim Topçiu said.

More than anybody else, it is residents who speak about the investment in this road, which was a main obstacle for them, even in terms of carrying out daily agricultural tasks.

“Thank you very much for what you have done. Every day has been tough in these 25 years with regard to crossing this road, in all respects. Many thanks, and much success!”, one of the residents said. “You made come true an old wish of ours”, another one said.

The change is visible not only by the residents. “It was a swamp. Everybody who came here would be surprised. Roads were asphalted everywhere, even on the top of the mountain, but here. Thank God you became Prime Minister and gave us this road.”

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The Urban Renaissance has affected also the smaller administrative units. Thanks to the project of urban remediation, the centre of the municipality of Devoll is turning into a model that improves the quality of the city life, in addition to boosting the local economy. Following an investment of the Regional Development Fund, not only roads, sidewalks, squares and gardens were reconstructed, but also a new promenade was built. Also, the facades of the building surrounding the square were restored, and a lighting system has been installed. An important part of the project for the urban remediation of the centre of Bilisht, is greenery. Therefore about 3500 new trees will be planted, and about 150 benches, a playground and 4 bicycle stations will be placed. Accompanied by Deputy PM Niko Peleshi, Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected the current works for this project.

The mayor of Devoll Bledion Nallbati explained that “a 500-meter linear promenade will cross the city centre. Some random resting places have also been envisaged.” He also added that the facades of the surrounding buildings are part of the project as well.

The Mayor of Devoll Bledion Nallbati, a representative of the Democratic Party, expressed his wish for this cooperation to be closer in the future. “Good works don’t need any comment. I thanked you since when the project began. I wish there will be further cooperation. The residents of Devoll need more support”, he said.

On his part, Prime Minister Rama noted that cooperation is fruitful when the local power is willing to do the best for the citizens. “This is a good example of the cooperation with the DP”, he said.

While for Deputy PM Peleshi, this project is “proof of the political support provided to the municipalities, regardless of the political affiliation.”

The Prime Minister assured that the government will be always willing to cooperate for the benefit of the citizens, provided that there are competitive projects.

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A plant of the latest technology for the meat processing has been launched since a year in Korça, according to all EU standards. It is a multifunctional plant that meets all the needs of the region and beyond. With the support of the Guarantee Fund, the entrepreneur continues to invest in order to increase food security standards.

Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected this investment and talked with the entrepreneur. The latter explained the difficulties of launching his business, which he has managed to expand rapidly thanks to his engagement and fiscal facilities of the last 3 years. This is the butchery department. I had to train the butchers. I had to take 4 people from Macedonia, and I’ve paid a lot of money”, the entrepreneur said.

In terms of another department, he said that “the technology used is Italian. A special attention has been paid. We’ve worked for about one year and a half on the project. It is all based on EU standards. Now we are working also with an EBRD project on the butchery management, in order to complete the part concerning the food security.”

When asked by the Prime Minister about the benefits from the Guarantee Fund, the entrepreneur replied that this support was very important in the first steps of this investment, and crucial to its continuity. “That’s what I’ve been dealing with since when the project started.”