The 16 million euro tender for the extension of the Tirana-Durrës railway fails

The 16 million euro tender for the extension of the Tirana-Durrës railway fails

2026-07-20 10:48:00

The 16 million euro tender for the construction of a 4-kilometer new railway line that will connect the Public Transport Terminal with the Tirana Train Station has failed. Albanian Railways announced that no suitable bid was submitted in the announced competition and for this reason the tender has been canceled.

According to the announcement published in the Public Procurement Bulletin, one submitted bid, the merger of the companies BE-IS and 2T, did not meet the qualification criteria as it had no interest in the implementation of railway systems and the construction of electrical lines.

"The documentation submitted by the economic operator does not demonstrate that it has previously carried out works involving the construction of railway signaling systems and the electrification of railway lines. Consequently, the necessary experience in relation to the most critical technical components of the contract subject to procurement is not proven," states the justification for the rejection of the bid.

The tender with a limit fund of 1.5 billion lek, or 16 million euros at the current exchange rate, was announced in May as an additional facility for the Tirana-Durres railway. It envisaged the construction of a 4-kilometer line to connect the Public Transport Terminal with the Train Station at the end of the new Tirana boulevard.

The Tirana-Durrës-Rinas railway began construction in 2021. This line envisages the construction of a travel system with a speed of 70-100 km/h through electric trains. The project's costs have increased several times, while its deadlines have also been postponed on more than one occasion.