Albanian PM promises better water management as 400km of water canals are rehabilitated

Tirana, Albania | Tirana Echo -Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama promises better water resources management as 400kmn of agricultural water canals are rehabilitated in the southern Albanian region of Divjaka and Fier.

400 kilometres of primary canals cleared from soil, aggregates and sediments have been built from scratch with concrete coating but also with iron nets, and with outputs for secondary and tertiary canals. These are investments that directly affect the agricultural product of Lushnje and Divjake.

5060 ha have been improved in terms of drainage which, along with the 8350 beneficiary farming families in Divjakë, Shegan, Fier, Krutje, Martish, Gorica, Grabian etc., form what is called the agricultural ring of Lushnje and Divjakë, one of the country’s most agricultural regions.

Farmers say that these canals have been out of use for over two decades, because they were blocked by soil and waste. Their function and modernization will develop lands and farms below their potential. “It has been covered in thorns all this time, with reeds and tonnes of waste, and water could not get through, not even in Krutje, let alone in Divjake. Now water will go beyond Divjake”, one farmer said. “Not even 25 canals were made in 25 years”, another one said.

Investments in irrigation and drainage system do not include only the rehabilitation of canals, but also the modernization of the whole system, and a more effective management of water use. Each farmer will be equipped with meters also for water that goes to the parcel. This will bring a more efficient management of water resources.

“There are more than 400 km of irrigation and drainage canals in this area only, while in the area of Divjakë, which is also the most intensive area in terms of agriculture in this region where we have the most intensive agriculture, we will measure for the first time in Albania the irrigating water, not only to finally guarantee that water will reach each plot, but there will be no need for pumps to extract water which has as a consequence that land would become saline and unusable for many years. Another part is being cleared and will continue to be cleared, because all municipalities have received new modern and powerful excavators, and little by little we will be extending also here what we did in other parts, in order to have a modern network of water supply”, Prime Minister Edi Rama said.

Meanwhile, over 13 million Euros are being invested in strengthening and modernizing the irrigation system for Divjaka and Krutje, starting since the irrigation season this year. Extending 22 km of pipes under pressure, the construction of two pumping stations for Divjaka, and the rehabilitation of 252 km of canals in the irrigation network in Krutje-Tërbuf, will bring water to the parcel in a total area of approximately 15 thousand ha. Prime Minister Rama was in Gërmenj, where a project to rehabilitate one of the two watersheds in Divjaka, with 4.5 million m3 capacity has begun.

Director of the Albanian Development Fund, Benet Beci noted that water supply provides a solution not only to the current problem, but also to the perspective. According to him, forecasts are minimally 15 years. “The project – he explained – provides water to 22 thousand inhabitants and 4.700 families. These were areas completely without water. Work began in December and will end in October. The works are continuing very well and meet the best standards quality in terms of water supply. Water goes into every home, with the metering and the water management system.”Albania’s irrigation system of canals, once fully functional during the communist era, has been out of use for years while state attention towards agriculture has been minimal, for what is one of the principal sectors of the Albanian economy.
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