Milot-Balldren: High cost or wrong perception
Whenever a new infrastructure project is announced, the first public discussion that arises is the cost of the project. The same thing happened with the Milot-Balldren axis. 364.7 million euros for 17 kilometers of highway. Mechanically divided by the length of the axis, this amount produces a result that creates the idea that we are dealing with an expensive road.
But is that really the case?
To answer this question, perception must be separated from economic analysis.
The first mistake is comparing the contract to construction.
The figure of 364.7 million euros does not represent the cost of constructing the highway but is the total value of the 35-year concession contract, which includes design, construction, electronic toll system, operation and maintenance.
The tender documents clearly allocate this amount.
The cost for the design is 3.65 million euros. For the construction 182.55 million euros and for the electronic charging system 10.12 million euros. While for the operation and maintenance spread over more than 3 decades, they are 84.98 and 83.43 million euros respectively.
This means that the physical investment is around 196.3 million euros, while the rest is related to the operation of the highway throughout the concession period.
Milot-Balldren is not an ordinary highway. The project includes a highway of the highest standard, a two-tube mountain tunnel, a 620-meter bridge over the Mat River, a 223-meter bridge over the Drin River, 5 interchanges, about 9.5 kilometers of secondary roads and an electronic toll and monitoring system. The tunnel and the 2 bridges alone constitute a very significant part of the investment.
If we were to do a comparative analysis of European costs for similar works, these artworks alone of the project usually account for almost half of the physical investment.
Another argument is that the road is flat and therefore should cost little. In fact, the segment passes through an alluvial area near the Adriatic coast where the groundwater level is high and the soil has a lower bearing capacity. Under these conditions, the highway is not built on the existing terrain but requires large fills, stabilization layers, drainage and measures to avoid differential subsidence of the road body. So even though we are not dealing with mountainous terrain, we have another engineering complexity.
Equally important is the strategic function of this highway. Milot-Balldren is not designed as a local segment. It is part of the Adriatic-Ionian corridor that connects Albania with Montenegro and further with the European transport network. Therefore, the economic analysis should take into account not only local traffic but also the international circulation of passengers and goods that is expected to pass through this corridor in the coming years.
The discussion about cost is necessary, but it must be based on facts and not on simplified comparisons. Only then can we judge whether an investment is truly expensive, or whether we are paying for infrastructure that will serve the country for decades.
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