Transport in Albania

In the early 1990s, the rock-strewn roadways, unstable rail lines, and obsolete telephone network crisscrossing Albania represented the remnants of the marked improvements that were made after World War II. Enver Hoxha's xenophobia and lust for control had kept Albania isolated, however, as the communications revolution transformed the wider world into a global village. Even internal travel amounted to something of a luxury for many Albanians during communism's ascendancy. For years, peasants needed special passes to visit nearby districts, and until 1990 the government banned private ownership of automobiles. Urban mass transit consisted primarily of bus lines for ferrying workers between home and work. Breakdowns in Tirana's bus lines sometimes forced employees to walk to work or pay for rides in the beds of passing trucks. The communications system sustained severe damage in the chaos of the economic collapse as people ripped down telephone lines to use as fencing. Despite generally deteriorating conditions, the importation of fleets of used cars and buses and popular hunger for contact with the outside world raised hopes that matters would improve.

Railways

total: 447 km

standard gauge: 447 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Railway links with neighbouring countries:

*Greece - no
*Kosovo - no
*R. of Macedonia - no
*Montenegro - yes (freight service only)

Highways

* Total: 18,000 km
** Paved: 7,020 km
** Unpaved: 10,980 km (2002 est.)

The total length of Albania's highways more than doubled in the first three decades after World War II, and by the 1980s almost all of the country's remote mountain areas were connected, at least by dirt roads, with the capital city of Tirana and ports on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. The country's roads, however, were generally narrow, poorly marked, pocked with holes, and in the early 1990s often crowded with pedestrians and people riding mules, bicycles, and horse-drawn carts. Even in tiny villages, hundreds of people of all ages gathered daily along main roads waving their arms seeking rides, and gangs of children often blocked rural highways hoping to coax foreign travelers into tossing them candy. Heavy snowfalls cut off some mountain areas for weeks at a time.

Central government funding of local road maintenance effectively ended in 1991, and the breakdown of repair vehicles because of a lack of spare parts threatened to close access to some remote areas. A group of Greek construction companies signed a protocol with the Albanian government in July 1990 to build a 200 kilometer road across the southern part of the country, extending from the Albanian-Greek border to Durrës. The project was scheduled to last four years and cost US$500 million.

Despite the appalling quality of Albania's roads, most of the country's freight was conveyed over them in a fleet of about 15,000 smoke-belching trucks. According to official figures, in 1987 Albania's roadways carried about 66 percent of the country's total freight tonnage. In 1991 the Albanian government lifted the decades-old ban on private-vehicle ownership. The country's roads, once almost devoid of motor traffic, began filling up with recklessly driven cars that had been bought in used-car lots across Europe. Car imports numbered about 1,500 per month, and a black-market car lot began operating just off Tirana's main square. Traffic in the capital remained light, but traffic lights and other control devices were urgently needed to deal with the multiplying number of privately owned cars. Albanian entrepreneurs also imported used Greek buses and started carrying passengers on intercity routes that did not exist or had been poorly serviced during the communist era. Gangs of hijackers and thieves, who preyed on truck and automobile traffic, made road travel hazardous in some regions.

Currently the major cities of the country are linked with first class national roads. There is a four lane highway connecting the city of Durrës with Tirana and the city of Durrës with the city of Lushnje. Albania is partaking in the construction of what it sees as three major corridors of transportation. The major priority as of present is the construction of the Durrës-Pristina highway. In 2004 a deal was signed to connect the port of Durrës with city of Pristina in Kosovo with a four lane highway. Construction has begun and the highway is expected to be finished by 2009. The second priority is the construction of European corridor 8 linking Albania with the Republic of Macedonia and Greece. The third priority for the government is the construction of the north-south axis of the country; it is sometimes referred to as the Adriatic-Ionian highway as it is part of a larger regional highway connecting Croatia with Greece along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts. By the end of the decade it is expected that the majority of the sections of these three corridors will have been built. When all three corridors are completed Albania will have an estimated 759 kilometers of highway linking it with its neighbors.

Highway Sections Under Construction as of 2007:

* Durrës - Pristina Highway
* Librazhd - Qafë Thanë: Part of "European Corridor 8".
* Lushnjë - Fier: Part of "European Corridor 8" and the "Adriatic-Ionian-Highway".
* Levan - Vlorë: Part of "European Corridor 8".
* Levan - Tepelenë: Part of the "Adriatic-Ionian-Highway".
* Tepelenë - Gjirokastër: Part of the "Adriatic-Ionian-Highway".
* Shkodër - Han i Hotit: Part of the "Adriatic-Ionian-Highway".

In 2006 Albania joined the E-road cooperation. The following European routes pass through the country:
*
*
*
*
*

Waterways

* Total: 43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Ohër Lake, and Big Prespa Lake (1990)

Albania's main seaports are Durrës, Vlorë, Sarandë, and Shëngjin. By 1983 there was regular ferry, freight, and passenger services from Durrës to Trieste, Italy. In 1988 ferry service was established between Sarandë and the Greek island of Corfu. A regular lake ferry linked the Macedonian town of Ohrid with Pogradec. The estimated total displacement of Albania's merchant fleet was 56,000 tons in 1986. The limited capacity of the wharves at Durrës caused severe bottlenecks in the distribution of foreign food aid in 1991.

Pipelines

:Crude oil 196 km; petroleum products 55 km; natural gas 64 km (1996)The construction of 1.2 billion dollar AMBO pipeline will begin in 2007. This will connect the port of Burgas in Bulgaria with the port of Vlora in Albania. It is expected to ship 750,000 - 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil each day.

Ports and Harbors

*Durrës
*Sarandë
*Shëngjin
*Vlorë

Merchant Marine

Airways

In 1977 Albania's government signed an agreement with Greece, opening the country's first air links with non-communist Europe. As a result, Olympic Airways was the first non-communist airline to fly into Albania. By 1991 Tirana had air links with many major European cities, including Paris, Rome, Zürich, Vienna, and Budapest. Tirana was served by a small airport, Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza, located twenty-eight kilometers from the capital at the village of Rinas. Albania had no regular domestic air service. A Franco-Albanian joint venture launched Albania's first private airline, Ada Air, in 1991. The company offered flights in a thirty-six-passenger airplane four days each week between Tirana and Bari, Italy, and a charter service for domestic and international destinations.

As of 2007 Albania has only one international airport: Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. The airport is linked to 29 destinations by 14 airlines. It has seen a dramatic rise in terms of passenger numbers and aircraft movements since the early 1990s. In December 2007 it served over 1 million passengers and had 43 landings and takeoffs per day.

Airports

* Total: 12 (2002 est.)

Kukes airport is expected to open in early 2008, making this the second civilian airport in Albania. A local news paper announced on March 16, 2007 that the Italian government would help rebuild the airport in Gjirkoastra. The airport would be dual functional, both a civilian and military airport. The first phase of construction is expected to start in September 2007. Currently there are two feasibility studies being conducted for airports in Vlora and Korca. The plan for Saranda airport was completed however there is no known investor willing to put in money at the time.

Total paved runways

4

Gjader/Gramsh
* RWY 16 APPR 151°/RWY 34 APPR 331° Length 2800 m x 60 m
* RWY 17 APPR 167°/RWY 35 APPR 347° Length 2200 m x 25 m

Kucova
* RWY 14 APPR 134°/RWY 32 APPR 314° Length 2840 m x 65 m

Kukes
* RWY 19 APPR 192°/RWY 01 APPR 012° Length 1800 m x 45 m

Tirana/Rinas
* RWY 18 APPR 176°/RWY 36 APPR 356° Length 2750 m x 45 m

Total unpaved runways

**total: 8 (2006)
**over 3,047 m: 1
**1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
**914 to 1,523 m: 1
**under 914 m: 4

Heliports

*Total: 1 (2002 est.)

References

*factbook 2006
*Albanian Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Telecommunication

External links

* [http://www.tirana-airport.com Tirana International Airport (official website)]
* [http://www.hsh.com.al/eng/default.htm Albanian Railways (official website)]
* [http://www.mpptt.gov.al Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Telecommunication of Albania (official website)]

ee also

* Albania