The Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku is in Houston, USA, where she has signed a cooperation agreement with the American company Exxon Mobil & Excelerate Energy, for the import of liquefied natural gas in Albania.
Mrs. Balluku said in an interview with Euronews Albania that it is a privilege that the largest American companies in the world, one as an operator and the other as a supplier, have selected Albania as the hub for the distribution of American gas in the Balkans.
The Minister of Infrastructure and Energy says that the agreement does not only aim at starting the construction of the Vlora TPP and turning it into operational liquefied gas technology but also aims to create a step for the distribution of American liquefied gas throughout the Western Balkans.
"The project has these two important goals to increase the security of energy production in Albania through a sustainable source but also to turn Albania into one of the distribution points of American LNG", declared Mrs. Balluku.
The Minister of Infrastructure said that this agreement does not exclude the continuation of projects related to TAP.
Mrs. Balluku stressed that Albania has been trying to put this power plant into operation for 20 years, while a loan received from the World Bank continues to be repaid regardless of the result.
The Minister stated that with the commissioning of the power plant, Albania creates another source for energy production by not being dependent only on the energy produced by hydropower plants.