The project will create up to 2,000 jobs for the local community during the construction phase and approximately 150 long term jobs on completion.
The improvement of the local road network that is required as part of the project will make the area more accessible and attractive for business and tourism opportunities.
There will be no need for any relocation of people since the areas that are affected by the flooding are uninhabited.
At present the historic city of Berat (population of 50,000+) has a high flood risk since the river can rise by over 2 metres in this area in times of high rainfall. The construction of the dams will control the river flow and eliminate this flooding risk completely.
The creation of the lakes will result in the ability to create a natural irrigation network to the surrounding land, resulting in an increase on the agricultural yields per hectare on the surrounding land. This improved irrigation will enable the growing of grape vines and olive trees which are currently difficult to grow owing to the lack of irrigation.
The construction of this project has no negative impact on the local wildlife since none of the habitat or environment is affected by the flooding.
The creation of the lakes will act as a heat store that will reduce the high summer temperatures in the immediate area by approximately 2 degrees, and will then release this stored heat in the winter to increase the very low temperatures by 2 degrees. This will help the sustainability of the local wildlife and will also benefit the agricultural industry.