Germany, Albania sign EUR 50 million loan agreement for green transport in Tirana

The governments of Germany and Albania have signed an agreement to finance the project called Green Transport in Tirana. Public urban transport is seen as one of the major causes of air pollution in Albania’s capital city.

The Green Transport in Tirana project is based on an in-depth feasibility study for a rapid bus system in Tirana. A few weeks ago North Macedonia’s capital Skopje, also one of the most polluted cities in Europe, signed a EUR 70 million loan agreement for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

The main objective of the project is to introduce an urban transport system both environmentally and climate friendly

The main objective of the Green Transport in Tirana project is to promote an urban transport system in Tirana that is both environmentally and climate friendly, and reliable and affordable for the citizens of the capital, the German embassy in Tirana said in a press release.

The new system will focus on three main city corridors

The system will focus on solving problems on the three main corridors of the capital – the east-west line from Kinostudio to Kombinat, Unaza and Tirana e Re (central and western part of the city).

A EUR 50 million loan will be provided by Germany’s Development Bank KfW, Deutsche Welle reported.

The in-depth feasibility study has focused on the technical, financial, social and environmental problems encountered in the three main city corridors. The study was conducted with a German government grant of EUR 1.7 million, delivered in 2019.

The loan will be provided by KfW

Urban public transport in the capital is performed since 2013 by about 300 buses owned by 11 private operators on 16 different lines. Only 271 buses have a platform for people with disabilities and only 62 are equipped with security cameras. Every day about 200,000 people use public transport lines.

Tirana was one of the cities in the region that prepared Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) under the SUMSEEC II project of the Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Energy Efficiency (ORF-EE).

It is worth mentioning that within a pilot project in Tirana, which started in January, small solar and wind power devices will be used to supply the energy for public lighting and chargers for electric vehicles.