Work continues in Thumane, the worst-hit area by the Nov 26 tragedy, to build the underlying layer base and foundations for the new residential neighbourhood’s infrastructure, filling the selected site with inert solid material, including soil, rock, stone, gravel to create the layer of geo-textiles layer to fully stabilize the soil of the former marshy land set to host the new neighbourhood.
Once this crucial process completes, work will kick off soon to construct individual homes and apartment buildings, a new school, kindergarten and nursery school, along with a public and community service centre, recreational spaces and sports grounds.
Prime Minister Edi Rama today visited the village of Thumane together with the Minister of State for Reconstruction Arben Ahmetaj.
The Director of the Albanian Development Fund (ADF), Dritan Agolli, said that work is currently underway to level the ground, which is suitable for construction of the new neighbourhood because of the site’s shape. “Work has advanced with the filling process to prepare for the new foundations of the above-ground individual homes. The site has been excavated and filled with solid material, since it is about a valley-like ground that needs to be filled until it reaches the road’s level,” Agolli said.
Speaking about the project, ADF Director Dritan Agolli explained that work to construct apartment buildings will follow shortly after, once the expropriation process completes. Agolli also said that the two parts of the new residential neighbourhoods will be connected by new roads although the entire area will be considered one neighbourhood that will also include the postal service office, a community centre, the local administrative unit, service area, a new school and an existing school building.
“This is a state budget investment worth $5.5 million to build infrastructure both above ground and underground, whereas the individual private houses will be built by the foundation Firdeus,” Reconstruction Minister Ahmetaj said.
On his part, Prime Minister Edi Rama noted that the work that has been done to date to level the ground was an indispensable part of the project to provide a solid and firm ground on which the new residential neighbourhood will be built. “It is interesting to see this entire transformation of the field’s structure and, rightly enough, we thoroughly understand all of those who wonder and ask “has it yet to happen”, but huge excavating and filling work has been carried out here indeed to make a general levelling of the site because of the need for a firmly stability of ground that would have been absolutely unstable without this ongoing work. The other part is that concerning the expropriation process which takes its time too. So, if we are to consider the time, it is of course a long time for all of those currently living in tents, yet, speaking in terms of the process, the damage assessment process and the verifications, applications and complaints, provision of the funds, designing process, procurement procedures, expropriation process, finalizing the contracts and commencement of the construction work have been all carried out extremely quickly. If we were not to face the strong and brutal interruption and the total lockdown, then we would have advance probably a lot more, yet we are catching up with time. So, the new residential neighbourhood will definitely take its shape by fall and with God’s help we will be able to open the doors of the first new houses ahead of Nov 26,” the Premier said.
New Thumane neighbourhood will also include a memorial that will convey the message of the power of social solidarity to recover and emerge stronger and better after every loss and pain.
