A high-level team from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) visited the Balkan state of Albania to review the status of three of its key projects worth Dh423 million ($115 million) including the Tirana River Rehabilitation project, Tirana River Northern Boulevard project, as well as the Tirana-Elbasan Road project.

ADFD, the leading national entity for development aid, had provided an Dh103 million concessionary loan for the Tirana River Rehabilitation project in 2013, while for the Tirana River Northern Boulevard project, it had given Dh137 million and also a concessionary loan worth Dh183 million for Tirana-Elbasan Road project.
 
Following the visit to the Tirana River Rehabilitation project site, the ADFD members said 70 per cent of the river rehabilitation works had been completed and the project was slated for handover by the second quarter of 2018.

The team led by Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, the director general of ADFD, met several Albanian government officials including Gelardina Prodani, the secretary general of the Ministry of Finance, Arbjan Mazniku, Deputy Mayor of Tirana, and representatives of the Albanian Road Authority.

The two also sides discussed ADFD’s funding parameters and guidelines, and the delegation received an update on the progress of the development projects.

On the Tirana River Northern Boulevard project, the officials said 50 per cent of the works have been completed, including a two-storey underground car park with 333 parking spaces, equipped with an electric vehicle charging station.

On the road project, Albanian officials said the work on the construction of a 28.2 metre wide, 27 km-long highway with a 2.2 kilometre long two-lane tunnel was progressing well. Once completed it will ensure smooth flow of traffic between the Albanian capital Tirana and the country’s third-largest city of Elbasan.

The venture seeks to support economic growth and increase the volume of domestic trade through cutting down on travel time between the two cities and reducing the number of road accidents. The delegation confirmed that several phases of the works are finished, and the project is scheduled for completion by end-2017.

Speaking on the occasion, Al Suwaidi said: "ADFD is keen on periodically dispatching its technical team to review and assess funded projects in beneficiary countries."

"These delegation visits are crucial in evaluating progress of projects and discussing with officials any hurdles facing completion and finding appropriate solutions," he added.-TradeArabia News Service