EIB Global has signed a €100 million loan with Albania under a Team Europe financial package for the modernisation and electrification of a 120 km railway line from Vorë in central Albania to Hani i Hotit on the border with Montenegro.
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The Team Europe financing package for this project comprises the €100 million EIB loan finalised yesterday, an approved €126 million EU investment grant channelled via the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) and a €98.75 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The signature ceremony took place in Tirana and was attended by an EIB Global delegation led by EIB Vice-President Kyriacos Kakouris, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku and Chargé d’affaires of the EU Delegation to Albania André Rizzo.
The project will enable the rail track electrification, the reconstruction of 12 railway stations, the introduction of a new telecommunication and signalling system, and safety improvements.
These will enable traffic speeds of up to 120 km/h, increasing the efficiency and capacity of passenger and freight rail transport.
As an extension of the Core TEN-T Mediterranean Corridor, the Vorë-Hani i Hotit railway line connects Tirana with Podgorica and is the only railway link between Albania and rest of Europe.
A team of experts from the joint European Commission and EIB advisory programme JASPERS have developed an action plan to strengthen capacity for managing railway infrastructure projects in Albania.
The EIB is also providing technical support to the government of Albania for the preparation of the Corridor VIII rail project on the Durres-Rrogozhine and Rrogozhine-Pogradec railways. ■
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