The tourist season is upon us, the tourism campaign will be launched by the government, municipalities and the media soon, but tourists, in addition to vacations, will have to be creative about how they will travel, as entering and exiting Tirana is not promising!
Meanwhile, for those living in Albania, the Tirana-Durres highway continues to be a "nightmare." Every day, this axis faces heavy traffic, successive detours, and unfulfilled promises for the opening and normal circulation of this extremely important connecting road of infrastructure.
What was promised?
In September 2024, the minister at the time, Belinda Balluku, announced that she would launch one of the most important infrastructure projects in the country: the expansion of the Tirana-Durres highway.
This axis handles thousands of vehicles every day and has been considered overloaded for years, while in recent years it has suffered numerous damages. The first promise was speed, precisely because of the importance of this axis. First, it was promised that the first 6 kilometers would be completed by September 2025. In fact, the first statements implied that the delivery could happen even earlier, within the same year. But, as in many other public projects, especially in infrastructure, the promise was postponed.
As work progressed on the ground, deadlines began to change. From a projected delivery date of September 2025, it was promised that these 6 kilometers would be completed by the end of the year.
The Casa Italia–Rinas segment, up to the entrance to the new Kashar–Thumanë highway, would free up a very important node that connects to the north of the country, but would also help traffic going towards Durrës and further towards the south of the country. However, this promise was not kept this time either.
Meanwhile, the institutions returned to what was written in the contract. According to the official plan, the first phase of the project is expected to be completed in May 2026, while the second phase in September of the same year. So, from a project that was initially communicated as fast and with tangible results within a year, the deadline was moved to a longer time, not having the priority that was promised.
The suspension of Minister Balluku also set aside promises for the opening of this axis, at least the first 6 km. As for the complete Tirana-Durres axis, if it continues at this pace, its completion still seems very far away.
In recent months, statements about partial openings have become frequent. There has been talk of an inauguration within weeks, or at least…
This situation has caused citizens to have to deal with a road under construction, numerous detours, heavy traffic, and uncertainty in movement, complicating the normal functioning of the day.
The deterioration of the deadlines is also affected by the high volume of traffic, which has made the pace of the works difficult, while technical interventions, including the construction of bridges and the widening of lanes, have required more time than anticipated. On an axis that cannot be completely closed, any intervention becomes more complicated.
The methods of working at night, as is the case in EU countries, are not applied in Albania. However, beyond the technical reasons, what is striking is the failure to keep promises and the lack of priority for an axis of this importance.
Initial promises created expectations for a project that would bring rapid traffic relief, but the delay has brought not only direct monetary costs to citizens, but also more time in traffic, more stress, and less confidence in the announced deadlines.
Today, in the spring of 2026, the project is still in progress. The opening of a first segment continues to be promised, but history so far shows that any deadline should be taken with a grain of salt. The promises have even been repeated by the new Minister of Infrastructure.
Enea Karakaçi conducted an inspection on this axis yesterday.
"Within the first week of May, this part of the segment will be fully opened. This axis is important for connecting the port of Durrës with Morina and for connecting the North with the entrance to Tirana, but also for tourism. We must emphasize that in this segment we are working with several other projects such as the Tirana Bypass and the Kashar–Lekaj segment," said Karakaçi.
The Tirana-Durres highway is more than an infrastructure project. It is a test of how public investments are communicated and implemented in Albania. And so far, this test has shown a pattern we know well: enthusiastic starts, optimistic promises, and a reality that moves at a slow pace.
From September 2025, when it was supposed to be completed, we will have to wait until May 2026 for only 6 kilometers, while for the full axis we will have to be even more patient.
Editorial
