Highway brings pride, at a price

26/06/2009

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha heads into Sunday's election with another milestone to his government's credit -- a newly completed section of the highway linking Durres with Kosovo. Bloggers, however, raise questions about the timing and cost.

By Manjola Hala for Southeast European Times -- 26/06/09

Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha meets Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci midway in the newly opened Kalimash Tunnel last month. [Getty Images]

Just days before citizens go to the polls, the Albanian government on Thursday (June 25th) inaugurated part of a highway linking its port city of Durres with the Kosovo border.

According to Prime Minister Sali Berisha, the highway is the most significant event since the independence of Kosovo and Albania's entry into NATO. "This is the corridor of friendship and peace," Berisha said as he officially opened the 61km-long Kalimash-Rreshen section.

With 27 state-of-the-art bridges and a 5.6km-long tunnel, the highway has not been cheap to build, and the total cost could top 1.2 billion euros. Critics have sounded alarm over its steep price tag, questioning the excess number of subcontractors involved.

A supreme court case against Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha has fueled debate. He and an aide were accused of giving preferential treatment to certain companies during the highway tender, at a time when Basha headed the transportation ministry. All charges were later dismissed.

Construction of the 171km Albania-Kosovo Highway, dubbed the "patriotic highway" by locals, is scheduled to wrap up next year.

Albanian bloggers have been mulling the project with a mixture of pride and concern about the way it is being handled.

For Juventus, the highway represents "grandiose work", aiming to "unite Albanians and boost their development".

TaniBorizani however, worries the tunnel was rushed to completion in order to boost the ruling party's election hopes. What if safety precautions were ignored? If the work was not done right, the tunnel could risk becoming "a second Gerdec", he cautions, referring to a munitions site explosion that killed 25 people last year.

Hurbinek has actually driven on the highway. "You cannot imagine the feeling", he writes with excitement. "When you pass from a village to another in three minutes, while before it took you 30 minutes by car… it becomes clear to a traveler the in-space revolution has happened".

Ll disagrees. "I would have enjoyed it much more if it were built according to the law and regulations" and at a lower cost, he objects.

When billions of euros are at stake, setting priorities is crucial, suggests treni. "Money, especially in large quantities, should be invested where it can produce added value," he writes, urging fellow bloggers to "look at the deteriorating situation of the nearest hospital and consider what [they] value most".

Important projects may end up being rushed to make up for lost time, warns Naimi. When that happens, credit is given to some and fingers are pointed at others. In the end, "history will judge, …and justice will define the culprits".

2009goni sums up the debate. "[W]hen such big actions are undertaken, it is understandable that mistakes can be made". However, he adds, "no mistake will dim the importance and grandiosity of this highway".