In November two years ago, on the National Flag Day, the Vlora International Airport began to be built, as one of the most important strategic investments for tourism and the economy of the country, the gateway to the south of Albania, with the perspective of becoming the main airport of the country.
Today, major work is being done on several fronts at the same time, where currently the runway is taking shape, the construction of the 20,000 square meter terminal, the operations tower, the fire brigade building, hangars, the construction of connecting roads and the entire infrastructure of the airport field.
Prime Minister Edi Rama visited Vlora today and inspected the progress of works at the construction site.
“This airport falls into the category 4 E, one of the highest categories in the Balkans. On the other hand, we are now entering the new terminal. It is a terminal with an area of 20 thousand square meters. The work here has been very intensive and complicated from an engineering point of view because the surface t is 2 meters below sea level. The runway is 2.6 meters high from the ground and the airport is almost 4 meters high. This airport will also have an innovation that we have mentioned several times, but now it begins and becomes visible. The entire airport will be covered with solar panels, according to the studies of the Civil Aviation Authority, to avoid problems during the landing and take-off of the planes with their reflection, producing about 5.2 megawatts of renewable energy, which will be used mainly for the needs of the airport”. – Detailed the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku, who added, among other things, that “In the first year we expect more than 1 million passengers, starting from March 2025. So the forecasts are very optimistic. We are sure that the concession guarantees foreseen in the contract will not be activated”.
Vlora International Airport (VIA) will operate with more than 3 business models: civil aviation, aircraft maintenance, a real cargo, which the Albanian state lacks.