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Irresponsible designers and serious consequences/ Qukës-Qafë Plloçë Road, as a symbol of professional incompetence

2026-01-18 10:08:00, Denoncim CNA

Irresponsible designers and serious consequences/ Qukës-Qafë

The Qukës-Qafë Plloçë road is one of the most problematic infrastructure projects in the country and a clear testament to the irresponsibility and professional incompetence of those who designed this work. The repeated blockages and landslides that affect the axis are a consequence not of natural conditions, but of faulty and irresponsible design.

This project was designed before 2009, and was carried out without minimum standards and without an in-depth topographical, geological and geotechnical study. The designers of this road have ignored the fact that the axis climbs to an altitude of over 1200 meters, in an area with extreme climatic conditions, prolonged frosts and frequent freeze-thaw cycles. These factors require high expertise and advanced technical solutions, which have not been taken into account.

Irresponsible designers and serious consequences/ Qukës-Qafë

Another obvious problem is the segment built on a mountain slope, which does not receive sunlight for months. This causes these parts of the road to remain permanently frozen, damaging the structure and increasing the risk of accidents. This is an important microclimatic element, which has either not been taken into account at all, or has been deliberately ignored.

The height of professional incompetence lies in the decision to move the road axis 10 kilometers further into an area with known geological problems, just to offer a panoramic view. For the sake of aesthetics, very deep and dangerous excavations have been made, which have disrupted the natural balance of the slope. This is another example of the disregard for safety and the long-term consequences of these decisions.

A similar logic was used in the Vlora Bypass project, where problems have also continued for years and the cost of the road has doubled.

These cases show a bitter reality: for such complex projects, improvisation and savings in the design phase are not enough. It is much more reasonable and safer to engage international studios and designers, who have the experience and knowledge necessary to carry out projects in such mountainous terrain, despite the higher cost. The cost of a good project is always lower than the cost of a bad project.

Irresponsible designers and serious consequences/ Qukës-Qafë

Today, citizens are paying many times over for such failures, which include economic losses, high maintenance costs, and danger to life, simply because the initial project was carried out by unprepared people.

The Qukës–Qafë Plloçë road should serve as a clear example that professional irresponsibility and lack of accountability in design lead to unsafe infrastructure works, which directly threaten the lives of citizens. Without high standards, real expertise and punishment for failures, public infrastructure will continue to be built on expensive and dangerous mistakes./CNA