Letter from Albania: What's being done to improve the environment

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It is very nice to see this note about environment in Albania. The author seems to have covered quite a bit of the country, including the Bay of Vlora, which is ovelooked by Llogara Pass in the North.
Ironically, the Bay of Vlora is among the most threatened treasures of Albanian and Mediterranean ecosystems and cultural heritage.
The World Bank is planning to erect an oil-based combined-cycle power plant right on its Northern part, at the historic sandy Treport Beach.
The project has caused immense controversy and is opposed firmly by the people of Vlora. They collected more than 14,000 signatures asking to be heard on a local referendum. The World Bank's inspection panel is currently investigating the matter. A couple of kilometres south of Treport Beach, large oil storage deposits and a terminal is being built by an Italian company, another hugely controversial project with severe environmental impact over the entire Bay of Vlora. For some strange reason, the government of Albania has granted the Italian company a permanent (should we say "eternal"?) concession over more than 2000 acres of beach-front property. This used to be the site of a communist-era chemical plant, which was being cleaned through a grant of the Czech government. Only last week the EBRD refused to award to Petrolifera a loan of about 15 million of Euros - which seems like a step in the positive direction.
It would be quite helpful if Mr. White visits Vlora and covers these issues in his next letter from Albania.

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