In the transport’s field, intermodal transport has also been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to cross-border restrictions and the consequent impossibility for drivers and all human resources involved in the process to leave their countries. With the aim of mitigating the difficulties mentioned above and working to make intermodal transport more competitive, the European Commission has decided to extend the MultiAPPRO project with MultiAPPRO PLUS, joined by 7 former project partners.
In this context, as a partner of the project, AIT (Albanian Institute of Transport) gave its contribution helping the improvement of both the strategic framework of the Adriatc-Ionian region as well as of Albania. During the MultiAPPRO project, AIT has worked to reduce bottlenecks in ports, especially through bottom-up solutions and collaborating with Durres Port Authority and Saranda Port S.A. in order to collect qualitative and quantitative key performance indicators relating to costs, revenues, volumes and timing, crisis management, data security breach and integrity. The collaboration proved fruitful as AIT was able to develop an algorithm, which provides a solution using the collected key performance indicators (KPIs), and a decision-making system that implements EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) System and Port Community Systems in Durres Port Authority; as well as a decision support system (in the pilot test phase), an electronic customs declaration and a single waybill for carriers.
Furthermore, a specific goal of MultiAPPRO PLUS is the efficient implementation of the budget and the investment through the daily monitoring of the effective decision-making system. The quality management system represented in this strategic framework was used with the aim of increasing better governance of stakeholders at national, European and macro-regional level. Both the national and international events within MultiAPPRO and MultiAPPRO PLUS were a great opportunity not only to undertake the numerous measures described, but also gave the opportunity to promote and disseminate them globally with the hope of being useful for intermodal transport in general.