On February 14, Kevin McLaughlin, USAID Planning and Local Governance Project Chief of Party, and Armando Subashi, Mayor of Fier, signed a letter of agreement for cooperation in preparing the feasibility study and design project for a new livestock market in Fier. These documents will open the way for financing the construction of the facility by the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

The new livestock market will address a number of key issues for the municipality including: addressing a priority Government of Albania reform in closing unsanitary markets countrywide; improving living conditions in a neighborhood of over four thousand residents by moving the market to a strategic location outside the city more accessible to farmers/users; reducing traffic problems in the city center; and increasing economic development and regional trade in the Fier district.

“The new livestock market will be the first regional livestock and poultry market in Albania. We will finally solve the social, hygienic and traffic problems caused by the old market,” said Armando Subashi, Mayor of Fier at the event.

The teams of experts composed of the municipality, TAP and USAID will follow up with technical discussions starting in the coming week. The construction is foreseen to start this spring and the total amount of investment will be 320,000 Euro.

USAID is supporting the Municipalities of Fier and Berat in designing projects that will receive approximately $850,000 in funding from the private sector - Trans Adriatic Pipeline for economic development activities for their communities.