The Sites of Renaissance, the radical transformation of Durrës

During a conversation with the works leader, who informed the Prime Minister on the surface where the project will be implemented, the Prime Minister said that this surface was nothing but a massive garbage collection point.

Thanks to an infrastructure based on contemporary architecture, this area will be radically transformed in function of citizens and vacationers who come to Durres.

Another ongoing project is the one for the beach road and its transformation into an urban road with landscape and decorative elements. A novelty of this project is the 7 kilometer-long bike lane. 

Mayor Vangjush Dako explained that thanks to these interventions, sidewalks will also be freed up since up to today they were blocked by poles put there without any criterion. “There will be 2 parking spaces every 12 meters, thus both the bike lane and sidewalks will be freed up.”

The Prime Ministers solicited that work should start at the same time for the demolition of all illegal facilities to be replaced by legal facilities that will be integrated in the new urban landscape. “This intervention will bring a radical transformation of the road. Then, at the same time, we must start demolishing and cleaning up everything that is illegal, arrange all those signs and then continue building legal facilities that can be adopted and arranged so that a real radical transformation can occur” – the Prime Minister said.    

He continued inspecting works for the requalification of 11 square-meter space of the Dajlani Bridge, which is also an area filled with waste and inert materials. The project will give back citizens this public space where approximately 30 thousand plants and decorative bushes will be planted and where a lighting system will be set up. 

One of the most long-awaited projects for the citizens is the construction of the road parallel to the Harbor road. Now this project has become reality for them thanks to the collaboration between the government and the local power. Interventions on “Iliria” square include its requalification, lighting, paving water fountains, benches, etc. This square will become a modern space where citizens of Durres and tourist will spend their social life.

In a meeting with citizens of Durres gathered at the city center, Mayor Vangjush Dako and MP Blendi Klosi said that these projects have been long-awaited by citizens. With respect to the projects for the requalification of the underpass of the poplars’ area, Mr. Dako said: “The investment will transform this area from a gloomy and sad place into a place available to citizens and vacationers of Durres.”

Addressing to citizens, Prime Minister Rama said that the work done so far shows that the commitment to transform Durres in a short time is on the right track. In addition, he said that all these projects, especially those for informal areas, are extraordinary conditions for a Europeanizing transformation. “Taking into account our commitment here in Durres that in 4 year we will do for Durres what has not been done in 20 years taken together, these sites show that since the first year we actually are doing for Durres what has not been done in 20 years taken together, both from the point of view of the volume of investments and from the point of view of the direct impact that these investments will have on the life quality of citizens. Thanks to this transformative project, for the first time in our country and in a real intensive touristic area a 7-kilometer long bike lane is being built, thus allowing every citizen, whether boy or girl, to go to the beach by bike and ride through a free road from Durres to the beach” – the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that another intervention is about to be made soon in order to formalize and urbanize one of the informal areas of the coastline city. “We will continue with a very meaningful urban intervention in order to move forward with the second stage that will start in a few weeks, with an unprecedented number of sites for the urbanization of the new Durres, in the informal area that you call the former Marshland of Durres. All these projects are extraordinary conditions for a radical transformation. The radical transformation that we promised has already started.” 

During his speech, the Prime Minister reiterated once again the government’s determination to end the era of electricity theft in the country. “We all must do everything we can to encourage everyone around us to end the era of theft of ourselves through the theft of electricity. The more we rush in this direction, the more we will give ourselves the opportunity to make investments that have been impossible for many years, precisely because money would get lost in the black hole of electricity theft” – the Prime Minister addressed with a direct appeal to citizens of Durrës.