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| From the left: Lorenzo Di Loreto, Belinda Balluku and Maksim Ethemaj |
The meeting also included Maksim Ethemaj, the Civil Aviation Authority's Executive Director.
"The consortium led by Behgjet Pacolli has every chance of becoming the civil aviation industry's regional leader because it already has a great partner like Munich Airport. Proud of our nation, Balluku stated, "which, through transparent procedures, consistently absorbs an increasing number of foreign companies with an undeniable reputation on the international market."
An important project, the Vlora International Airport, is being built in Albania since 2021, 10 kilometers north of the city of Vlora. After Tirana International Airport and Kuks International Airport, this airport will be Albania's third international airport.
The construction of an agritourism site and marina as part of the project also includes the airport.
The international tender was won by a group that included Behgjet Pacolli's Mabco Constructions, the Turkish YDA Group, and the Kosovar 2A Group Shpk. On April 20, 2021, the contract was signed.
Environment and archaeology studies were conducted prior to the airport's construction beginning.
The airport will be built in 36 months and will have a 3.2-kilometer runway, a hangar for aircraft maintenance, and a cargo service. The official start of work on the airport's construction began on November 28, 2021, with an expected completion date of April 2024.
Albania has ratified international biodiversity protection conventions, so the construction of the Vlora Airport within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Area is against national law. The Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, which provides shelter to more than 62 bird species listed in the EU Birds Directive, is a candidate for the Emerald site network.
The Albanian government was urged by the Bern Convention to reconsider its plans to construct an airport within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Area.
The nation's largest airport is planned for the new facility, which is designed to accommodate wide-body aircraft.
Because the airport will be entirely within the Narta Lagoon, which is a protected area in Albania, it is anticipated that it will have a significant impact on economic growth as well as tourism. However, it will also have a significant negative impact on the biodiversity of the area.
Since Narta Lagoon is a major migratory bird breeding and living area, environmentalists have expressed concern about airplane collisions with birds.