Shkodra free zone

deepen the river-bed and deviate the flow of Kiri river into the lake
and that of Drini river into the sea. This was to ensure the all-time
navigation over the whole of its length and to facilitate the navigation
of medium size vessels.
Only through the utilization of the navigating route of Buna
River, the city hoped to keep a stable economic development.
Unfortunately, the project was never carried out.
Workers cleaning the river of Buna
The isolation of Shkodra from the European Trans Balkan
railway network was not a matter of accident, but a result of the
direct intervention of those states interested to disregard this
metropolis administered by the Turks. Referring to the observations
of Carl Marx, presented in the article published in the New York
Times in 1853, the region of Shkoder was a neuralgic point of the
Mediterranean, vital for the Russian, Austrian, Italian, and Turkish
imperialism. The development of the city reflected their interests.
Only by following this reasoning we can explain the reason of the
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