Economy of Albania

Tirana International Airport is the 7th busiest airport in the Balkans, handling over 5.2 million passengers per year in 2022. Transport has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernising the infrastructure. Improvements to the road infrastructure, rail, urban, and airport transport have all led to a vast improvement in transportation. These upgrades have played a key role in supporting Albania's economy, which in the past decade has come to rely heavily on the construction industry.The location of Durrës makes its port the busiest in Albania and among the largest in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. The busiest and largest seaport is the Port of Durrës.<br>The railways in Albania are administered by the national railway company Hekurudha Shqiptare. The railway system was extensively promoted by the totalitarian regime of Enver Hoxha, during which time the use of private transport was effectively prohibited. Since the collapse of the former regime, there has been a considerable increase in car ownership and bus usage. Whilst some of the country's roads are still in very poor condition, there have been other developments (such as the construction of a motorway between Tirana and Durrës) that have taken much traffic away from the railways.

Albania is one of only two countries in the world whose entire electricity production is dependent on hydroelectric power. It is host to five Hydroelectric power stations and a plant including the Fierza, Koman, Skavica and Vau i Dejës which are situated on the Drin river, due to its significant role for the production of electricity in the country. The Albanian Devoll Hydropower company is building two hydroelectricity plants on the Devoll river near Banjë and Moglicë. The two plants are expected to be completed in 2016 and 2018. After its completion, it will produce 729 GWh annually, increasing electricity production in Albania by almost 17%.The construction of a US$1.2 billion AMBO pipeline was planned to begin in 2007. This would connect the port of Burgas in Bulgaria with the port of Vlora in Albania. It is expected to ship 750,000 barrels to 1,000,000 barrels of crude oil each day. However, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline seems more likely to get started. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline route through Albania is approximately 215 kilometers onshore and 37 km offshore in the Albanian section of the Adriatic sea. It starts at Qendër Bilisht in the Korça region at the Albanian border with Greece, and arrives at the Adriatic coast 17 km north-west of Fier, 400 meters inland from the shoreline.

Albania boasts significant oil reserves, standing as the Balkan peninsula's second-largest holder and possessing the largest onshore oil reserves in Europe. In 2013, the country's crude output exceeded 1.2 million tonnes. This total included 1.06 million tonnes produced by Canada's Bankers Petroleum, 87,063 tonnes by Canada's Stream Oil, and 37,406 tonnes by Albpetrol independently. Other foreign companies accounted for the remainder of the production.<br>The oil and gas sector in Albania is among the most promising yet strictly regulated areas of its economy, drawing foreign investment since the early 1990s. This period marked the onset of reforms transitioning the exclusive public rights, control, and responsibilities related to exploration and exploitation to the private sector. Nonetheless, the Albanian State retains ownership of oil and gas reserves, engaging in agreements and granting rights concerning the evaluation, exploration, production, refining/processing, and transportation of these resources.