We are the first government to dedicate ourselves to infrastructure, it is our number one priority and we are working very intensively, said Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski in a podcast interview with the Kurir news website.
“Last year, we put into use the Kumanovo-Beljakovce section, we are now working on Beljakovce-Kriva Palanka, whereas the tender for supervision of the most difficult, 24km-long third section (to the Deve Bair border crossing with Bulgaria), is already published. We expect the tender for construction of the section to come out in a week or two. In addition, we are jointly building the cross-border tunnel that will finally connect Skopje and Sofia after many decades,” said Nikoloski.
The deputy PM adds that the Skopje-Kichevo railway section will also be rehabilitated.
“We are also working on a Skopje ring road so that cargo trains do not enter and pollute the city. In parallel, we are working on the City Train project but also the Skopje-Tetovo-Gostivar-Kichevo section together with the EU. The second stage of this project will depend on Albania and whether they invest as we intend to, considering that the interconnection would cost about EUR 2 billion. This is a mega project, which alongside the Corridor X fast rail, would potentially cost EUR 5 billion,” says Nikoloski, and adds that the construction of the Prilep-Bitola motorway is going well and is set to open in 2029.
