World Bank to support Albanian coastal city development

A delagation headed by Tahseen Sayed, the World Bank (WB) Country Manager in Albania held a meeting with Municipal authorities in Saranda, a coastal city in south of Albania on Friday. Both sides discussed the ongoing WB-funded projects aimed at supporting development of tourism and economy in Saranda on a sustainable basis. Saranda is one of the most important tourist attractions of the Albanian Riviera. It is situated on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea in the central Mediterranean, about 14 kilometers east of the north end of the Greek island of Corfu. Recently, Saranda has experienced an uncontrolled construction boom which may hamper the city's future tourism potential. Since 2012, the Port of Saranda is undergoing an expansion to accommodate cruise ships at its terminal. According to ATA's report, Sayed said that goal of WB was to assess progress of the ongoing projects and encourage completion of these projects aimed at supporting tourism development in the coastal area and improvement of the environmental conditions along Albania's coast. Sayed and WB experts showed particular interest on progress of works on construction of the water supply and sewerage systems in Saranda, due to complete this June. Jorgo Mitro, a local government official, said that "the coastal town of Saranda feels fortunate and privileged because of the numerous important projects and investments supported by the World Bank. Sayed, affirmed the Bank's support for development projects in the area. The World Bank team will also inspect works on the Saranda Ferry Terminal project and the landfill near Bajkaj.