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"There are 15 damaged bridges nationwide"/ Minister Vengu inspects Maliq

2025-11-23 13:53:00, Politikë CNA

"There are 15 damaged bridges nationwide"/ Minister Vengu inspects

The Minister of Defense, Pirro Vengu, today closely inspected the situation in the village of Sheqeras in Maliq, where the embankment has suffered significant damage. He said that immediately after the collapse, the drainage structures, the Maliq municipality and other teams on the ground have started rehabilitation works, while an increase in forces and equipment is expected in the coming hours.

According to the minister, other damages have also been noted in the area of ??the Pheasant Forest, where the collapsed embankment is hindering the flows coming from Dunavec towards Devoll. For this reason, the redeployment of forces is taking place and additional support has been requested from the Armed Forces. Self-unloading vehicles have been made available to cover the damages and restore the functionality of the embankments.

Vengu warned that the coming days will be difficult, as rainfall is expected to resume, while the soil, heavy with water, is "like a sponge" and presents great difficulties in the works. He stressed that the situation of landslides remains present, mentioning the major problem in Qafë Plloçë, where a road diversion was intervened through the area's operators.

At the national level, 15 damaged bridges have been identified, some of which have collapsed, requiring significant investments. The Minister also focused on support for residents, emphasizing that the distribution of emergency aid and food for livestock has begun, while municipalities have been instructed to submit requests for concentrate and necessary food reserves.

According to him, currently around 1500 hectares of land are under water nationwide, while water levels have started to fall, which creates opportunities for the recovery of damaged embankments. Vengu said that there will be compensation according to legal provisions, with the final balances to be determined after the situation stabilizes.

The Minister underlined that the 2026 draft budget foresees a new approach to supporting municipalities at high risk from civil emergencies, with additional funds and a fairer distribution of investments in defense infrastructure.

" We are today in the Maliq area, on the embankment in Sheqeras where there was considerable damage and in the first hours of its collapse, the regional drainage directorates, the Maliq municipality, and other forces that will be added in the coming hours, are carrying out rehabilitation works. On the other hand, we also have damage to the embankment in the Pyllit i Fazanëve area, which is making it difficult for the flows coming from Dunaveci to Devoll, so we are redistributing forces, requesting additional commitment from the armed forces. Self-unloading vehicles are coming to help with the large volumes required to cover these damages. We are on standby, we are increasing forces, we must understand that we also have situations of landslides and mountain massifs, where in Qafë Plloçë there was a major problem that made us strongly engage to make a diversion through the operators of the area. These will be difficult days because the rains will resume, the ground is like a "sponge" practically and it is difficult to work in situations where the ground is very unstable and filled with water. However, we are increasing forces so that Maliqi does not have problems in the rains that will follow during the coming week.

There are 15 damaged bridges nationwide, some of which have collapsed and will require significant investment. Our approach is not only to stand by the residents following the requests of the mayors regarding the state's material reserves, the distribution of aid has begun in certain cases. We have also asked the municipalities to make requests regarding livestock food, concentrate for affected livestock, and we are in conditions where we are distributing livestock food throughout the country. These are the two most affected groups and our strategy is to stand by knowing that we will still have rainfall, we are not out of danger. It is simply a moment of sunshine that allows us to continue working in the field. We expect rainfall throughout the country with much lower intensity than the first 3 meteorological fronts, but we also expect the south to continue to have rainfall and the water basins in the south of the country will continue to have rainfall, so we are on full alert.

"Evidence will be made and we have the opportunity to make compensation according to legal provisions. It is too early for a balance, we only have preliminary balances and it turns out that we have about 1,500 hectares of land under water. The waters are decreasing in level throughout the country and this gives us the opportunity to recover the embankments. There is a big difference between the municipalities that have managed to make the necessary investments and those that have not been able to make investments. In the 2026 draft budget, we have a new approach regarding supporting municipalities, especially those with more risk for civil emergencies, by supporting them with additional funds with a fairer distribution of investments than in the past," said Vengu.