21 May 2010

At the Tirana Conference on “Corridor VIII: a bridge between the Adriatic and the Black Sea,” with the Italian, Albanian, Macedonian and Bulgarian Transport Ministers in attendance, Sali Berisha welcomed a delegation from Salini Costruttori, headed by Managing Director Pietro Salini and Luisa Todini, member of the Board and Vice President of the European Construction Industry Federation. The presence of the Roman company at an important event like the Tirana Conference demonstrates the strategic value that the Balkans have for the entire major works and infrastructure industry.
Speakers at the Conference included representatives of the European Commission, the Balkans Customs Administration, international financial institutions and the private sector.
Amongst  the issues explored at the Conference, there was a special focus on the need to increase public financial contribution to promote more advantageous investment by the private financial sector in carrying out infrastructure projects. The public-private partnership was in fact acknowledged as an essential tool for developing these countries and for carrying out large works at a particular moment in history when we are seeing an increase in the public debt against a forecast for growth in the GDP over the next few years estimated at between 1 and 1.5 percent.