Construction on the Bukojchani to Kichevo motorway section officially began Monday after a decade of preparations. As part of Corridor VIII, the section will connect the highway between Kichevo and Ohrid to the motorway from Tetovo through Gostivar to Bukojchani.
The motorway will feature two traffic lanes and one emergency lane in each direction, with a speed limit ranging from 110 to 130 kilometers per hour. The section will include five bridges, one tunnel, two viaducts, and two interchanges. Construction is scheduled to be completed within four years.
Funding has been secured through the EBRD in the amount of €119 million, supplemented by a €20 million grant from the European Union and €300,000 provided through the EU Western Balkans Fund.
Macedonian Prime Minister HristijanMickoski, speaking at the official launch of construction, says that this motorway section gives the entire project coherence by establishing a continuous highway link between Skopje and Ohrid.
“When this Government was elected in 2024, its policy was to transform the country into a crossroads based on four pillars. We initially started with three, but over time we expanded that goal and challenge, and today we speak of four pillars. The aim is to serve as a junction for two Pan-European corridors, Corridor VIII and Corridor X, encompassing road, rail, energy, and gas infrastructure. In this way, the country’s geostrategic significance becomes a source of greater strength for all citizens and a prerequisite for the development of modern industries; the state gains substantial added value compared to the past,”Mickoski said in his address.
Public Enterprise State Roads head KoceTrajanovski said that intensive work had been underway for two and a half years.
“We are not talking about plans; we are beginning construction on an 11.5-kilometer stretch. Next year, we will open the Kichevo–Ohridmotorway, and intensive work is also underway on the Tetovo–Gostivarmotoray; today, we are opening the missing section, the part that will connect these highway segments. It will be a modern, toll-free motorway, so we hope to make the trip from Skopje to Ohrid in less than an hour and a half,” said Trajanovski.