BELGRADE - The European Investment Bank and the Albanian government have signed an agreement in Tirana over a 50 million euro loan aimed at asphalting and generally improving the state of the local road network. It is the biggest ever operation carried out between the EIB and Albania. The project is part of a programme that will see the restructuring and the restoration of 1,500 kilometres of roads throughout the whole of Albania, with the aim of improving connections, which in turn would favour economic opportunities and the development of the country's agriculture and tourism sector. The total cost of the project is around 140 million euros and is co-financed by the European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as part of the Western Balkans Investment Fund (WBIF).