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TENT network, Albania is stuck in the millions allocated for infrastructure

Politiko 2025-05-30 10:42:42

TENT network, Albania is stuck in the millions allocated for infrastructure

Albania, like Balkan countries in general, faces a large financial gap to meet TEN-T (transversal European infrastructure network) objectives.

On the one hand, the EU's growth plan has brought in significant funds (6 billion euros), but high costs and project over-invoicing remain serious challenges, according to an analysis by the Transport Community regarding the progress of TEN-T projects through 2024.

According to the report, 965 km of railways are currently under rehabilitation across the region, at a cost of over 3.6 billion euros. Road projects amount to 11.3 billion euros, with Albania benefiting a significant share in the core network.

The report recommends that Albania accelerate the full incorporation of EU standards in the rail and road sectors, improve maintenance practices instead of an excessive focus on large projects, increase coordination with regional partners, and implement the Transport Community Action Plan.

The transport community's analysis noted that the Durrës-Skopje Railway is an important part of the European core rail network, but the project is facing major gaps. The rehabilitation of this line is expected to be completed by 2040, but the pace of work and the lack of sufficient funds could significantly delay this objective.

Albania faces significant shortcomings in complying with the technical requirements of the TEN-T network, especially in the railway sector in their construction and electrification. Serbia and North Macedonia are ahead in implementing railway electrification projects.

Albania received praise for improving the Thumanë–Kashar segment, as part of the Mediterranean Corridor. This development has contributed to increasing the roads' compliance with the TEN-T standards of the region's core network.

However, the report highlighted the need for systematic annual assessments of road conditions, as the lack of regular monitoring can lead to deviations between reported data and the reality on the ground. Projects on key networks financed by the Growth Plan are facing delays, such as the Tirana bypass.

Tirana Airport meets some of the basic TEN-T standards for terminal infrastructure, but the lack of a direct rail connection is an obstacle to meeting the requirements of multimodal integration. The planned connection with the Durrës–Tirana line is seen as a promising development, but further investment is required to meet the EU’s green economy objectives.

Albania has made progress in improving its transport infrastructure, especially in the road network and through its involvement in strategic projects such as the Adriatic-Ionian Corridor. However, to meet the ambitious objectives of the new TEN-T Regulation by 2030 and 2040, a significant acceleration of reforms, investments and strategic coordination is required./MONITOR

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