Bechtel and joint-venture partner Enka are putting Albania in the fast lane with construction of $535 million modern motorway.
The 38-mile (61-kilometer) four-lane highway will stretch from the town of Rrëshen, in the heart of the country, up to the northeastern village of Kalimash.The project will be the central leg of a 106-mile (171-kilometer) highway traversing the country from the Adriatic Sea up to the northeastern border with Kosovo. The new roadway will cut travel time along the route from six to two hours, boosting coastal trade and northeast tourism.
Bechtel and Enka have partnered on two other Eastern European roadways: a 258-mile (415-kilometer) motorway currently under construction in Romania, and a 124-mile (200-kilometer) highway in Croatia. But Albania has served up plenty of fresh challenges, including construction of a 3.4-mile (5.5-kilometer) twin-bore tunnel and 27 bridges in a mountainous, rocky region that currently has only basic infrastructure.
The project is the largest employer in the area, and Albanians account for two-thirds of the people on the job. By late 2008, the workforce was expected to reach 4,500.
Positive Impact
Respect for the local community and environment are among the top concerns on the Albanian Motorway project. The Bechtel-Enka joint venture takes full advantage of Albanian expertise, labor, materials, and services. Thinking locally makes good environmental as well as business sense, and will leave a positive legacy of economic growth and a stronger skills base in the region.
The project is the largest employer in the area; out of the more than 3,500 people on the job, two-thirds are Albanian. The joint venture is partnering with authorities in the nearby towns of Rrëshen, Reps, Klos, and Kukës, as well as with employment officials in the capital of Tirana, to recruit locals as the project gears up to employ a peak of 4,500 later this year.
Minimizing the project’s carbon footprint has been a constant priority. Instead of relying on diesel generators, the camps at Reps, Thirrë, and Kukës are now hooked up to
the country’s national hydro-powered electricity grid. Fuel consumption has been cut dramatically and carbon dioxide emissions have dropped by more than 613,000 pounds (278,000 kilograms) per month.
The connection required reconstruction and upgrades to the local grid. That made Bechtel-Enka the largest customer of the local utility company, further supporting the local economy.
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