Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister AleksandarNikoloski, who attended Thursday’s agreement-signing event on financing the construction of Corridor VIII railway section KrivaPalanka – Deve Bair, said the Government is demonstrating how projects can be implemented and problems from the past resolved, putting things on the right track and moving forward.
The EU’s Western Balkans Investment Framework has provided a EUR 149 million grant for the construction of the third section of the Corridor VIII railway.
Work on the ground is expected to begin this year. A contractor is scheduled to be selected in the fall and work will begin immediately thereafter. There is already an active tender for the selection of a supervisor and it is being carried out in two phases, a pre-qualification that is in the final stages and a qualification, while the construction tender will be in one phase.
“Today’s signing represents a continuation of the vision set by this Government – for Macedonia to use its unique position as the crossroads of two corridors VIII and X, and thus prove its place as the heart of the Balkans. The construction of Corridor VIII is one of the top priorities of the Government. This is an exceptionally significant day because after almost two years of work, we are coming to a realistic and feasible project that can be realized. We managed to reach an agreement with Bulgaria for the construction of a cross-border railway tunnel that should connect the two countries,” said Deputy PMNikoloski.
