Turkish group offers to build airport in Albanian PM's constituency

Thomson Reuters

TIRANA (Reuters) - A Turkish consortium has offered to build an airport in the Albanian town of Vlore, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Wednesday.

Rama, whose constituency is Vlore and who is a friend of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, has long been pushing for an airport in the southwestern coastal town.

"We have the official request for a big strategic investment (there)," Rama said on social media, adding that construction could start in June.

The Infrastructure Ministry said the offer, from Cengiz Construction, Kaylon Construction and Kolin Construction, was unsolicited.

"We shall set up a special group to examine the technical details of the proposal and follow it through in line with the legal requirements," a spokesman for the ministry told reporters.

The ministry did not say how big the airport might be or how much it might cost. Tirana International Airport is just 100 kms (60 miles) north of Vlore.

(Reporting By Benet Koleka, editing by John Stonestreet)

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