The  Municipality  of  Dropull  with  a  population  of  22.278  people,  is  part of  the  Greek  "minority zone" recognized by  the  Albanian  government,  and  located    at    the heart of    a    cross-border macro-region,  between  Albania and Greece. 
Dropull is a profoundly rural area, with the main sectors of the economy being livestock, agriculture and trade Located in the threshold between Drinos River valley and the mountain chains of Nëmërçka and Bureto,  thus  in  a  very  dynamic  territory of  various  landscape  features,  which  tie together a macro-region between Albania and Greece. 
It  is  also  located along a  very  important economic  corridor  that  goes  in  parallel with the river, and in between Gjirokastër and  Ioannina,  two  regional centers of a  cross-border macro-region between the  two  countries.  Over  years,  this  very strategic  positioning  has  conditioned  a very  welcoming  climate for  businesses and industries as well, giving Dropull yet another  potential to  explore  and  make use  of,  in  terms  of  development  of  the economy. 
The municipality  is  partly  composed  of  natural  and  cultural  areas.  Natural systems take more than 70% of the total surface and are rich of biodiversity, flora and fauna. Within the municipality, there is also the protected area of “Sotira’s Pine” forest. Is part  of  the  European Green Belt  that crosses  throughout the Albanian cross-border  from  North-East to East and South-East. 
These  areas  represent  an  important  touristic  and  natural  potential  for  the  future development of this municipality. Besides the natural surface, this municipality is host to a number of significant cultural and natural monuments spread throughout the territory.  

These resources hold great value in supporting the future touristic development of this municipality (Dropull Municipality & Polis University, 2018). 
It has the necessary administrative capacity and operational competence for the implementation of the co-financed projects. It has a sufficiently staffed technical service capable of implementing interventions in road construction projects based on its competence. 
During the period 2014-2020 it successfully implemented 4 projects within the Program 2014 - 2020 Interreg IPA CBC Greece – Albania (CLLD-CulTour, POLYPHONIA, LED & EXTROVERT ROADS). 
Especially the EXTROVERT ROADS project with a total budget of €1,798,688.61, concerned the upgrading of municipal road infrastructure and is a precursor to the present proposal. The Municipality of Dropull had a budget of €780,881.07 and the project's  partnership included the Municipality of Georgiou Karaiskakis as LB. 
The project in question was completed smoothly and on time in its entirety, achieving a 10% increase in the initial projected output indicators. 
In  the  context  of  the  implementation  of  the  above  mentioned  projects,  the  Municipality  of  Dropull successfully faced all issues and achieved a smooth implementation (it has covered from their own sources the 15% of the national contribution and the 20% of the VAT, tenders, signing of the respective contracts, timely execution, cooperation between beneficiaries avoiding delays in submission of payment applications etc.) 

Dropull’s  strategic  location  and  commitment  to  extroverted  structured  actions  for  transformation  as mentioned  above  in  a  “complementary  network  of  settlements  and  services”  that  uses  its  own  local potentials and regional competitiveness to develop as a whole, make the Municipality a key partner in the EXTROVERT ROADS 2.0 project. 
By improving road accessibility, the municipality not only enhances the quality of life for its residents but also targets the removal of isolation and the broader regional development contributing to social cohesion and prosperity 

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