PRISTINA (Kosovo), July 2 (SeeNews) – Kosovo's prime minister Ramush Haradinaj said on Tuesday that the upgrade of Kosovo’s southern section of rail route 10 from Fushe Kosove to North Macedonia’s border is a much-needed investment and proposed a rail link to Albania be set up.
Infrastructure is a precondition for the economic development of Kosovo, Haradinaj said in a video file posted on Facebook, following a ceremony for the launch of works for the reconstruction of the Fushe Kosove - Hani i Elezit railway section.
A new rail link between Pristina and Albania’s biggest port of Durres would be in the interest of the economic development of Kosovo and the entire region, Haradinaj said, noting that at present Kosovo’s railway network is only linked to Serbia and North Macedonia.
In February, Kosovo's railway infrastructure operator Infrakos signed a contract with Italy's GCF-Generale Costruzioni Ferroviarie for the upgrade of the railway section from Fushe Kosove to Hani i Elezit, on North Macedonia's border. Construction works on the section must be completed within 24 months.
The upgrade of this railway section is part of a larger project for the overhaul of a 148 km north-south railway running from Kosovo's border with Serbia to the border with North Macedonia worth an estimated 210 million euro ($238 million).
The project will be implemented in three phases. It comprises rehabilitation and upgrade of the following sections: Fushe Kosove – Hani i Elezit, Fushe Kosove – Mitrovice and Mitrovice – border with Serbia.
The project is supported through loans and grants from the EU, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Investment Bank (EIB).
Kosovo's rail route 10 is part of the Western Balkans core railway network, an extension of the Trans-European Transport Networks, which is part of the EU’s wider efforts to promote transport connectivity in the Western Balkans.
($=0.88320 euro)