Located along Albania’s southwestern coastline, the 6km tunnel will create a new direct route, shortening the sinuous Llogara Pass road. The tunnel is expected to reduce the travel time between Vlora and Saranda by around 40 minutes and increase safety along one of the country’s slowest roads, boosting both tourism and the economy.
Worth around US$178m, work on the tunnel is expected to take around three years to complete. In addition to the 5,992m-long main two-way traffic tube, a parallel escape tunnel will be excavated and accessed by cross passages located every 500m. A maximum overburden of 900m is anticipated, with alignment geology expected to comprise mainly slightly–to–heavily decomposed limestone formations and cataclastic fault zones.
Feasibility studies, draft and detailed planning were undertaken by Austria-based iC consulenten over a short period of just six months. The contract was awarded in October 2021 to a consortium of two Turkish companies – Intekar Yapi and ASL.
