The new project will link Albania to Varna
By stretching as far as Varna, Bulgaria, Corridor 8 opens up Albania in terms free movement of goods and people. Almost 1300 km long, the ambitious project, which starts in Bari, Italy, goes through Brindisi to reach Durres, Tirana, Elbasan and then Struga, Kercova, Gostivar, Tetotov, Skopje, Kumanovo, Kriva, Pallanka, Sofia, Plovdiv and end in Burgas-Varna in Bulgaria. This is a giant project which includes, among others, ports, roads, railways, airports, but it also includes multi-modal and inter-modal infrastructure of transport. Besides its practical aspect in facilitating exchanges, this project also offers Albania a new geo-political importance, thanks to a new role that it assumes as a bridge linking the countries of Eastern Europe and Asia. On the other hand, in the European point of view, this corridor, along with others, will contribute in the stability of a region which has constantly generated instability and crises between its neighbors.
Railway, an important part of Corridor 8
The railway system remains an important part of the implementation of Corridor 8. It was the former minister of Transport, Edmond Haxhinasto who announced a while ago that serious efforts are being made about the Corridor 8 railway. “We will demand a European Union commissioner, a representative who will offer the necessary support and the necessary attention for this corridor”, he said. In whole, Albania must build 2.8 km long rail tracks up to the border. This will also enable the connection with the Corridor 8’s railway. The project enables the construction of the new railway line connecting the railway station of Lin with the city of Struga (Macedonia), Durres sea port to Pogradec and it will also enable the construction of the new railway line from Vlora to Rrogozhina, as part of the Corridor 8 railway. The Corridor 8 Secretariat based in Bari (Italy), has initiated a feasibility study on the railway lines that are missing in this corridor. According to this study, our railway network will become a transit network.
ORIGIN
The project for the ten corridors of the Pan-European Transport dates back to the second Pan-European Transport Conference held in Crete in March 1994. This conference discussed the road network in Central and Eastern Europe which required big investments which would go on for the next 10 or 15 years. Meanwhile, more elements were added in the third Conference hosted in Helsinki in 1997. This is why these corridors are sometimes known as “Corridors of Crete” or “Corridors of Helsinki”, despite their geographical locations. Meanwhile, Corridor 10 was proposed following the end of wars between the states of former Yugoslavia.