Regional transport ministers agree to develop railway network.

IntelliNews - Albania Today/ISI - Intellinews
Date: December 5, 2007

The third annual ministerial meeting for the development of Southeast Europe core regional transport network concluded on Tuesday with a political resolution to develop a regional railway network that is indispensable to regional development. The meeting which was held in Tirana was attended by representatives from the EU, international financial institutions, as well as Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia , Macedonia , Montenegro , Serbia , and Slovenia . PM Sali Berisha stressed at the meeting the importance of developing the corridor 8 projects. Another important transport infrastructure in Albania are the ports which have to be modernised and their capacity extended. Finally, the prime minister requested the EU Commission to assist the country for developing local and regional roads within Albania in order to improve access to markets and services for residents in remote areas. Transport infrastructure and particularly the construction of the Durres-Morina highway to Kosovo will be the government’s investment priority in the next couple of years. The building of the motorway will cost about 5.5% of the country’s GDP and will reduce travel time to Kosovo from the current 6 hours to 2 hours.