As we presented in a previous article, the construction of the Albeni passage (one of the most important activities of the Fish for Life project) was initially started in 2020, but the work was seriously affected by the natural phenomena produced on the Gilort River in January 2021.

After a court action against the builder, who refused to bear the restoration of the works, an action that lasted 3 years, APM Gorj won the case in the trial before the Gorj Court. According to the court decision, the builder is obliged to return the amounts it collected from APM Gorj for the works carried out on the passage until the moment it was flooded, to which are added the court costs. The decision can be appealed to the Craiova Court of Appeal.

Meanwhile, APM Gorj has completed the public tender procedure for contracting the works to restore the Albeni passage. Thus, in August 2024, a new contract was concluded with another contractor for the execution of the works of Construction of a passage/migration for fish on the Gilort River, at the spillway of the bridge on DJ 675B, in the Albeni locality. The works began on November 7, 2024 and are planned to last 8 months.

The Albeni passage has the role of allowing the passage/migration of fish upstream, to breeding sites or to refuge, feeding, and resting habitats. The lack of this passage contributed, in addition to the decrease in the populations of all fish species upstream of it, to the disappearance of the common nase (Chondrostoma nasus) from the Gilort River Natura 2000 site, a species that previously ascended the upstream tributaries of the Gilort River for reproduction. The construction of the passage would restore longitudinal connectivity on the river and would restore the migratory corridor for the common nase. Thus, conditions will be created for this species that disappeared from the area to return.

The construction of the Albeni and Tg Cărbunești passages (completed in 2021) represent two key actions of the Fish For Life project, aimed at achieving an important objective: restoring longitudinal connectivity for 175 km of river in two Natura 2000 sites (Gilort River and Jiu Corridor).