Aqueduct from Albania to Puglia, green light to the one billion project – Corriere.it

The Albanian government has given the green light to the aqueduct that will connect Gjirokaster (Girokaster), in Albania, to Galugnano, in Salento. “The Albanian government has authorized us to begin planning the aqueduct that will connect Albania to Italy. Albania throws an enormous amount of good water into the sea and obviously has an interest in getting paid for the water. We have an interest in obtaining it because for us water means giving a new model to agriculture, making tourism grow and giving a future to all Apulians”, announced the president of the Puglia Region, Michele Emiliano, during a press conference in Bari on investments in the water system.

The works and the costs

To build the infrastructure, it would take 4 years of work and a billion in resources, to be financed using the EIB, the EBRD, the Italian state, the region and the Apulian aqueduct’s own resources. The goal is to transport 150 million cubic meters of water to Puglia every year. For Puglia it is a strategic infrastructure, given the drought that has characterized the last few years. But Albania too would have an economic return, given that around 8,000 new direct and indirect jobs would be created.

Confindustria’s proposal

The proposal was launched in 2022 by the president of Confindustria Puglia and Bari-Bat, Sergio Fontana. «Here in Puglia, we have the skills to be a national point of reference for water policy. We have the Apulian Aqueduct, the largest in Europe, the first contracting station in Puglia. United by the Adriatic Sea we have Albania in front of us, a country very rich in water. We have exceptional close relations with Albania. We have a huge opportunity to address the water crisis, proactively. We can give life to a large and ambitious project: to build an impressive water infrastructure in the Adriatic Sea between Puglia and Albania», said Fontana, during the annual meeting of Confindustria Bari-Bat.