The Vlora International Airport, one of strategic investment projects for Albania’s tourism industry and national economy, is gradually taking shape and being materialized to become the country’s major airport, which is designed to operate based on three business models: civil aviation, aircrafts maintenance, as well as a genuine cargo service that civil aviation still lacks.
Prime Minister Edi Rama inspected progress of work on the construction site of the major project, where excavation work for the 3.2-km long and 60-meter runway is already complete. The runway is designed to allow for landing and take-off of larger planes operating transatlantic flights.
“We are here at the construction site of Vlora international airport, where construction work – as everyone already knows – kicked off on November 28 last year, or a few months ago. However, construction work is advancing satisfactorily. I would like to recall the fact that its 3.2-km long runway is the longest compared to other airports already operational in Albania and as such it meets the 4 E category standards to accommodate bigger planes. It is the only 4E category airport and it will accommodate transatlantic flights too,” the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku said.
The project manager provided a brief outline of the volume of work completed so far, underlining that the work is progressing at a satisfactory pace. “The runway along its total 3.2km length has been opened. Earthwork is underway for the taxiways with 1.8km of which is already opened. The first connection between the runway and the first 160-m long taxiway has also been completed. We have excavated a total of 45 km of drainage canals, which will help us to progress with the initial phase of the project. Work is also underway to open the 1.5km perimeter. The work is progressing for the runway’s geo-textile filling,” she said.
Mr. Behgjet Pacolli, the president of the Lugano-headquartered Mabetex Group that has been awarded the contract to construct the airport near the southern coastal city of Vlora, said that everything is now ready and work is full steam ahead to deliver on this major infrastructure project.
“We have everything a construction site needs to have in place so that it can work for more than 600 workers. We have built spaces for subcontractors, spaces for conferences, offices, a healthcare centre, on-site housing units for over 100 persons. During the next visit we will demonstrate all these through live aerial images provided by a drone and we won’t need to tour the site at all,” Pacolli said.
Vlora International Airport (VIA) will be the gateway to Albania’s south and the gateway to development of the country’s tourism. The airport will contribute to growth of Albania’s mainstream economy and will transform the southern Albanian Riviera into a major tourist destination, capable of attracting direct foreign investments thanks to an airport located less than a one-hour drive from the main tourist and urban attractions.
With its operations, VIA will benefit and service flights of low-cost carriers that will access the market and will encourage investors to develop airport and tourism infrastructure in the area.
