According to the tender documents, the total estimated value of the Milot–Balldren concession is 364,732,924 euros excluding VAT for 35 years. At the official exchange rate of the Bank of Albania today, 1 euro = 95.24 lekë, this comes out to around:
34.7 billion lek without VAT
or approximately 41.7 billion lek with VAT.
The winner was announced today as Salillari Group.
For tolls/toll payment, the business plan documents and reports provide this logic:
Basic tariff: 0.12 euros/km.
For about 17 km, a car costs 2.04 euros without VAT.
With 20% VAT, it costs about 2.45 euros, or approximately 233 lekë for one trip.
Rounded in reports: about 2.5 euros, or 238 lekë for one trip.
For the entire 35-year period, reports on the business plan state that the concessionaire is expected to collect around 1 billion euros from tolls, which at today’s exchange rate is approximately:
95.2 billion lek from tolls.
There is another reported figure: 799.4 million euros in revenue from tariffs, which comes out to around 76.1 billion lek. So, to put it bluntly: the contract foresees 34.7 billion lek excluding VAT, while from tolls over 35 years there is talk of around 76–95 billion lek in revenue, depending on how the documents and business plan are read/reported.
The value of the concession according to the publication of the procedure was 364 million euros excluding VAT for a contract duration of 35 years…
One of the most important infrastructure projects in the north of the country, part of the Adriatic-Ionian corridor, will be implemented by the Salillari company, which was announced the winner of the tender for the construction of the Milot-Balldren axis. In this way, one of the road segments where the kilometer will cost 21.4 million euros excluding VAT is entrusted to one of the ‘preferred’ companies of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
” The announcement of the winner makes it possible to finally begin the implementation of this infrastructure work, which will significantly improve the movement of vehicles and the connection of the northern areas with the rest of the country ,” said the Minister of Infrastructure, Enea Karakaçi, who announced the announcement of the winning company.
The proposed route of the “Milot-Balldre” road has a length of 17 km and begins at the Milot junction, where it will connect with the Milot-Thumanë-Kashar-Lekaj segment and the National Road, and will end at the existing Tirana-Shkodër road, in Balldre.
The value of the concession according to the publication of the procedure was 364 million euros excluding VAT for a contract duration of 35 years.
” The proposed route of the “Milot-Balldre” road begins at the Milot junction, where it will connect with the other road segments Milot-Thumanë-Kashar-Lekaj and with the National Road, and will end at the existing Tirana-Shkodër road, in Balldre ,” the MIE document announcing the tender stated.
Minister Karakaçi said that selecting the winning company was not easy, as several previous attempts to implement the project were not successful. He said that the institutions will be committed to starting the works as soon as possible, with the aim of completing the project according to the foreseen deadlines.
Referring to the official tender documents, the existing segment of the road that serves the route from Miloti to Balldre and the surrounding areas is two-way (return). The existing road has a greater length than the new proposal, the technical parameters of movement on this road are of a very low level.
” According to the traffic demand forecast, the capacity will soon be exceeded, increasing the number of vehicles in circulation, making it impossible for the existing road to cope with this capacity. The new highway will extend from Milot to Balldre, as a continuation of the Kashar-Thumanë-Milot highway, upgrading this section from a category “C” road to a category “A” highway.”
This axis will have a dual carriageway with two lanes, with a lane divider and emergency lane, embankment, two-tube tunnel, large works of art on the Mat River and the Drin River, small works of art, parallel roads of category F2, interchanges with connecting roads, alternative toll-free roads of category “C” at a distance of no less than 1 km from the main axis, as well as the operation and maintenance of the Operating Infrastructure including cabins, the system of automated gates for allowing entry and exit to the Road, traffic sensors and other measuring elements, the electronic system for collecting Tariffs and monitoring traffic, the servers necessary for maintaining and processing traffic data and relevant collections, as well as any other element necessary for the realization of the service of enabling access to the Road for Users, collecting the Tariff, controlling traffic and providing assistance to Users, preventing violations, including response in case of urgent interventions ,” the tender documents state.
The highway is expected to significantly reduce travel times to Lezha, Shkodra and Montenegro, increase road safety and support the economic development of the area. According to government plans, Milot–Balldren is one of the key links for the completion of the Blue Corridor, a project that aims to transform Albania’s road connections with the region and the European Union. /Pamphlet/