Prizren, 13 August, 2023
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accompanied by the Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi, visited the Municipality of Prizren today, where he was hosted by the mayor Shaqir Totaj.
In this meeting, which the Prime Minister described as cordial, a number of issues were discussed, including the two memorandums of cooperation that the Government already has with the Municipality, one for the cable car and the other for local roads in Zhupa.
At the center of the discussion was the connection between Prizren and Tetova, for what is the agreement signed with the Government of North Macedonia since September 2021, this axis which Prime Minister Kurti assessed as extremely important for Prizren and for Tetova, for Kosovo of North Macedonia, for our entire region, both for citizens and entrepreneurs.
Also, he said that he has informed Mayor Totaj that in the coming week they will also send the second circular for the 2024 budget.
“Based on the pre-calculations that have been made, the total cost will be about 200 million euros, where about 150 million euros are for the tunnel, which is approximately 600 meters longer than the one in Kalimash, while about 50 million euros will cost the road on both sides of the tunnel that connects these two cities, which are very important even for today, but which are full of history, culture and art, such as Prizren and Tetova”, said the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the Municipality of Prizren, Shaqir Totaj, said that he feels good about a very constructive and very positive approach towards projects of national interest, while emphasizing that as a municipality, they pledge that for everything they need and have the opportunity to contribute, they will be ready to engage in a constructive way to facilitate and enable the realization of this project.
“I am very sure that we have a very large space for cooperation in all other fields and I believe that there will be no lack of readiness from either side for this cooperation to continue, because it will affect the performance of both the central government and the local government ” he said, adding that the benefits will be not only for the citizens of the Municipality of Prizren, but also more widely, taking into account the reputation and importance that the city of Prizren has for the entire region, even in this case the alignment with the Municipality of Tetova is a possibility .
Then Prime Minister Kurti together with Deputy Minister Durmishi, and with the MPs of the VETËVENDSOJE! Movement, Artan Abrashi and Arbër Rexhaj visited the location in the village of Struzhë where a part of the Prizren-Tetovë road is expected to pass and from where you can see where the tunnel will be built that will connect the two sides of the road.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete statement:
Today, together with the Deputy Minister for Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure, Hysen Durmishi, we came to Prizren and we thank the mayor of the Municipality of Prizren, Mr. Shaqir Totaj, for this warm hospitality.
We discussed a number of issues. We discussed two memorandums of cooperation that we already have, the Government and the Municipality, one for the cable car and the other for local roads in Zhupa. Of course, at the center of our discussion was the connection between Prizren and Tetova, for which we have the agreement signed with the Government of North Macedonia since September 2021 and which has an agreement on the option from the feasibility study with a tunnel of 6.4 kilometers. In which case, from approximately 15 kilometers at both entrances and exits of the future tunnel, it will be possible to connect Prizren with Tetova and Tetova with Prizren, as an extremely important axis for Prizren and for Tetova, for Kosovo and North Macedonia, for throughout our region, both for citizens and entrepreneurs.
I also informed Mayor Totaj that in the coming week we will also send the second circular for the budget of 2024. Together we will go to visit as close as we can the place where the exit of the tunnel will be, in Struzhë, that then it will be connected by road to the southern, southeastern part of the exit of Prizren on the highway, in Vlashnje, which constitutes the road that will connect Prizren with the exit of the tunnel in the future.
Based on the pre-calculations that have been made, the total cost will be about 200 million euros, where about 150 million euros are for the tunnel, which is approximately 600 meters longer than the one in Kalimash, while about 50 million euros will cost the road in both sides of the tunnel that connects these two cities that are very important even for today, but that are full of history, culture and art, such as Prizren and Tetova.
Thank you once again Mayor for this hospitality and I promised that we will work together for the common good, as the Government with the Municipality, as the Prime Minister with the Mayor of the Municipality.
Last modified: August 14, 2023