20 January 2026- 90th birthday of prof. Farudin Hoxha, “Professor of Large Dams in Albania”
On January 20, 1936, Prof. Farudin Hoxha was born in Gjirokaster, the designer of main large dams in Albania and the Chairman of the National Committee of Large Dams of Albania in the years 2000-2011.
Prof. Farudin Hoxha, after graduating from the Polytechnic of Tirana, pursued higher studies in hydropower engineering in Budapest/Hungary and Sofia/Bulgaria Hoxha. In 1961, he graduated as a Hydrotechnical Engineer at the University of Tirana
With a degree in Hydrotechnical Engineering, he began working at the State Institute of Design in Tirana and later at the Institute of Hydropower Studies and Design, continuing his research and design work regularly at this Institute until 1993.
In 1971, he completed his postgraduate specialization in France in soil mechanics and the construction of high dams with local materials, which served him in the design work for the construction of the largest hydropower dams in our country, such as the Fierze HPP Dam with a height of 166.5 m and the Koman HPP Dam with a height of 115.5 m, as well as for the Boville Dam project with a height of 91 m.
From 1997 to 2008 he was a Member of the Regulatory Council of the Republic of Albania and from 1997 to 2004 he was a Member of the Council for Scientific Policy and Technological Development of the Republic of Albania. In 1986 he was accepted as a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences and from 1989 he became its permanent member.
In the period from 2000 to 2011, Prof. Farudin Hoxha headed the National Committee of Large Dams of Albania (ALBCOLD).
Until the end of his life, he was very active in relation to the safety of large dams and in particular for the maintenance, monitoring and operation of the great works he designed.
In September 2017, Albania lost the Professor of Large Dams which still function today and serve to produce more than 60% of the energy in our country.
