The 1 billion euro concession for the construction of the Milot-Balldrenë highway appears not to have the same fate as the tender for the Port of Durres, which was canceled but could be successfully concluded.
Kapitali has learned that a few days ago, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy sent an official letter to the 4 participating companies, asking them to extend the bid guarantee period by another three months. This is because the guarantees submitted by the companies in the tender have legally expired, exceeding the 120-day deadline.
The tender for the concession of the Milot Balldrenë road was held in March last year, more than a year ago. Although before the elections, former Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku declared that the winner would be announced in a matter of days, the procedure has been frozen for almost a year and there has been no development in the tender.
However, the letter that the Ministry of Interior addressed to the participating companies signals the reactivation of the procedure for announcing the concession winner and closing the tender. This is because in the event of cancellation, the ministry did not need to request the reactivation of the bid guarantees from the companies.
The tender
Four companies are competing in the tender for the 35-year concession of the Milot-Balldrenë road. Gener 2, Salillari, ANK and 4 AM are the companies that are competing to get their hands on the huge concession contract, which is expected to collect a full 1 billion euros over 35 years.
Bids for the Milot-Balldrenë highway concession have resulted in toll fees ranging from 1.6 to 1.9 euros. Kapitali has learned that the ANK company has offered a toll fee of 1.6 euros for simple vehicles. Meanwhile, two other companies, Gener 2 and Salillari, have offered a toll fee of 1.9 euros excluding VAT.
The Milot Balldrenë segment is part of the so-called Adriatic-Ionian Corridor or as it is otherwise known, the Blue Corridor. This segment has a length of 17 kilometers and will cost 182.5 million euros in construction costs alone. If the design, maintenance and operation costs are included, the total private investment is estimated at 365 million euros for the entire 35-year concession period.
This is the second time that the Albanian government has attempted to award a concession for the construction of the Milot-Balldrene highway. The first time was in 2018, when the government selected the ANK company as the winner of the concession, but with another model, that of Public Private Partnership, according to which the company would build the road with its own money and would be paid for 13 years from the state budget until the investment is repaid and its profit is made.
But ANK was unable to build the road because it could not find the money to finance it. As a result, the government canceled the concession and put it out to tender again, but this time with a toll formula for citizens, not through reimbursement from the budget.
Editorial
