The table on the first phase of works on construction of the promenade has been placed at Vlora coast, which is considered as the largest investment in the city’s urban area.
The first phase (or Lot 1) for the materialization of this project, which is funded by the government with a value of 179,928,000 ALL, invested by the Albanian Development Fund, provides filling of Vlora beach with sand. Duration of works starting by January is for a period of 8-months.
The project about Vlora promenade, which has been realized by the Belgian studio XDGA B.V.B.A., declared the winner in the international competition that took place in early February 2014, aims at providing development perspective to the coast, in accordance with natural settings, traditions etc.
The project provides a high quality of coastline, good rapport with natural settings, adherence to specific natural conditions and of Vlora bay in a length of 7 km, which starts from the extreme point of the Forest of Soda and continues to “Tuneli i Ujit të Ftohtë”.
The table that marks the start of works on the promenade Photo Harilla Koçi (1) Promenade will be uninterrupted, alternated with areas and green area, so that not only guarantee a systematic and functional space, but also improvement of environmental standards, opportunity to citizens, foreign and local tourists to walk and entertain, exposure of values and historical, social, civic and urban traditions. The project provides green spaces, walking spaces and entertainment spaces.
The project designed to be implemented on the promenade and the Vlora bay seacoast itself are considered as regional wealth. In a city with an area of 2,400 hectares, construction of a promenade with an area of 250 hectares is regarded as a tremendous potential value, compared with similar spaces not only in the Balkans, but in the entire Mediterranean. On the other hand, representatives of the Belgian studio have considered this project as a catalyst for urban development of Vlora. The promenade project, which started with the initiative of the Prime Minister Edi Rama, was published as an idea on 28 November 2013, on the National Day of the 101th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The distinguished Belgian studio XDGA B.V.B.A., was declared the winner in an international competition, which was attended by dozens of popular studios from different countries of the world. In early February 2014, it was organized the final phase of the competition, which presented project ideas of 5 distinguished studios, of which the international jury selected XDGA as the best.
During his address in this final phase, which took place in the theater "Petro Marko", the Prime Minister Rama spoke about the Government's vision for coastal development and emphasized, "For us, the coast is like a challenge to build Vlora of the new century". He assessed the expectations from the project, while saying that, "we have available all the space to build one of the most beautiful urban lines of the Mediterranean, intended for the development of the city, and development of the whole country".
After completion of this project, tourists and albanian property buyers will be more attracted to Vlora and Albania's coastline. This project, which is the largest investment in the history of Vlora, will not remain separate, but will be alternated with other complementary projects that will be applied along the Ionian Sea coast.
