According to specialists, the Durrës coast is undergoing numerous construction interventions, which, in the absence of detailed studies, are disrupting the balance between nature and man.
Every morning, Kastrioti drinks his coffee at one of the many bars facing the sea on the Taulantia promenade in Durrës.
He comments in a low voice on the work of the excavators, who have resumed work after almost a year to rebuild the promenade that ends at the Sphinx, but which the people of Durrës still call Brryli.
"Inshallah they'll finish it this year, because the sign says it will be finished in eight months," says Kastrioti, who doesn't like his name appearing in the newspaper.
He says that in addition to the stones to expand the promenade to the detriment of the sea, the company implementing the works is pouring "concrete and iron without accounting."
"I don't understand where the restaurant waste water, which until now was dumped into the sea, will be directed," Kastrioti asks, as he lights another cigarette.
This is not just a concern of Kastrioti, but is also shared by engineers who are familiar with the progress of the implementation of projects on the coast, which have left many unresolved problems on the city's coastal promenade alone, especially in the sewage system.
Engineer Adrian Zhamo told BIRN that the first part of the "Taulantia" promenade project was completed in 2022, but very close to the monument to the Unknown Warrior, the city's mixed waters still flow into the sea.
“It seems that even now, in the last part of the project, the water from the many restaurants will go back to the sea,” said Zhamo, who worked for a long time at the city's water supply and sewage company.
"The entire coastal area - within the city - over a length of several kilometers is attacked by sea waters, which when they turn into high waves, throw the waters onto the promenade, where they remain for several days," he added.
Specialists insist that the only solution in the relationship with the sea remains the creation of barriers at a distance of several dozen meters from the coast, but even this must be done after detailed studies.
According to port engineer Tomorr Spahiu, the last studies were conducted by hydrogeological and military institutes 30 years ago, while now the interventions on the coast are completely abusive.
"The uncritical use of rivers and the installation of stone barriers in the Durrës-Kavajë tourist area have significantly affected the situation of the coast in the sea bay," Spahiu told BIRN.
"Knowing and respecting sea currents and the "wind rose" in the design of studies and projects can minimize the risk arising from marine erosion," he added.
A wind rose is a graphic figure that shows the main wind directions or cardinal points on a map, meteorological diagram, or compass. In meteorology, this diagram represents how often the wind blows from each direction, while in cartography and navigation it is used as a symbol of the main directions.
The sand dredging of the coast at the traditional beach south of the city, which is transported from the Shkumbini estuary, in Vila Bashtova towards Durres, has not yet yielded the expected results of the municipality's project.
"The first amount of sand that was thrown onto the shore has partially returned to the sea," said Vlash Molla, a pensioner from the neighborhood in 13.
"Inert materials were deposited on the shore, which were brought along with the sand from Vila Bashtova, almost 40 kilometers away," says Vlashi.
Work on the coast of the facilities known as "Teuta", "Iliria" and "Iliria" continues apace, and hundreds of meters of small sand pyramids appear on the shore from time to time, which are deposited into the sea by excavators.
The table set by the Municipality of Durres shows that 336 million lek will be spent on the coastal rehabilitation project from the Dajlan Bridge to the Ministry of Interior's Convalescent Home in two years.
"The whole point is whether it's worth it or not," Vlashi asks.
In the endless multitude of constructions on the traditional beach of Durrës, only the green oasis of the former communist leadership block stands out.
According to experienced engineer Adrian Zhamo, the sand brought by the sea to this area accumulates on the shore, as before, which is illustrated by the filling of the bridge legs with piles.
“The coast of this space has remained as it was,” Zhamo said. “In a word, where man has not built abusively, everything has remained as before,” he concluded./BIRN/
