Tirana 30.03.2016 – Within the common market, Kosovo and Albania aim at building capacities of joint power generation, and will soon conduct a feasibility study with the support of USAID. This was announced by the Minister of Economic Development of Kosovo, Blerand Stavileci and his counterpart, Minister of Energy and Industry of Albania, Damian Gjiknuri.

These comments were made by the line ministers in Tirana, after the meeting of the Steering Committee on the creation of a Kosovo-Albania common energy market, in which they signed a Joint Declaration.

Stavileci said that the governments of both countries have signed an agreement, and experts continued work at the technical level in many joint activities and projects.

“But we want to go beyond these agreements, in the light of developments being made in the electricity market, the trans-European networks of energy; knowing as well that the attention of the friendly countries and all the countries of the EU is at the connectivity of the road, air, rail and sea transport, but also of the energy market, which is more complex by nature,” said Stavileci.

According to him, the idea of a joint project for power generation, which will be preceded by a pre-feasibility study – made possible with the assistance of donors, mainly USAID, which is committed in both countries, especially in the idea of a common market – is one of the best things that could happen to the energy systems of both countries, and an actual contribution to economic development.

For his part, the Minister of Energy and Industry of Albania, Damian Gjiknuri underlined that Albania and Kosovo have been working intensively for more than two years in the process of creating a common energy market.

He said that the completion of the interconnection line between the two countries is an extremely important work in energy, and it will be inaugurated in June. This will physically connect the electricity network in both countries, but on the other hand, these investments are being followed with common market policies.

“Albania has made several steps with regard to designing an energy stock market and we are considering options on how this process of ours could be integrated in the processes taking place in Kosovo in terms of energy policy,” said Gjiknuri.

He said that he has agreed with Stavileci on conducting a feasibility study for the creation of joint capacities of electricity generation, and within this market, Albania and Kosovo will have the opportunity to invest in a joint power plant.