Skopje, 16 April 2024 (MIA) – In relation to the highways being built on Corridors 8 and 10, geotechnical investigations were conducted this past January on the sections Gostivar – Tetovo, Bukojchani – Gostivar and Bitola – Prilep. Earthworks also took place on the Bukojchani – Gostivar and Bitola – Prilep sections and no activities are underway on the section Kjafasan-Trebenishta-Struga, shows a report on the supervision of the progress of the construction of the highways built by the US-Turkish consortium “Bechtel-Enka”.

In January 2024, the constructor was mainly focused on expropriation, geodetic network, topographic survey, geotechnical investigations, specifications and highway design. 

The report shows that 89 percent of the land was expropriated for the section Gostivar – Tetovo, 27 percent for the Bukojchani – Gostivar section, and 70 percent for the Bitola –Prilep section.

88 percent of the urban planning projects were prepared for the Gostivar – Tetovo section, 28 percent for the Bukojchani – Gostivar section, and 75 percent for the section from Bitola to Prilep. 

Also, 75 percent of the topographic survey was completed for the Gostivar – Tetovo and the Bukojchani – Gostivar sections, but there are no such activities for the other two sections. 61 percent of the necessary geotechnical surveys were finished for the section from Gostivar to Tetovo, 49 percent for the Bukojchani – Gostivar section and 34 percent for the Bitola – Prilep section. Works for specification and projection of the highway at the first section by the end of January was at 23 percent, seven percent at the second section, and nine percent at the fourth one. 

The report on the progress of works for the period from Nov. 1 until Dec. 31, 2023, noted that 58 percent of expropriation and 33 percent of geotechnical investigations had been fully completed. 

Signed in March 2023, the contract with the company Bechtel-Enka for the construction of a 109-km network of highways is valued at EUR 1.3 billion.

Regarding the other highways under construction, Parliament in March passed amendments designating December 31, 2026 as the deadline for completing the 57-km highway from Kichevo to Ohrid, which is being built since 2014. “The deadline was pushed back because 13 new landslides were detected along the route due to the initial inadequate project and early start of the construction of this section,” the government said about the project built by the Chinese company “Sinohydro”.

As for the Skopje – Blace highway, 12.5 kilometers long, which is under construction, the first two kilometers are near completion. Bids for selecting a constructor are being evaluated for the others in the second phase. 

Photo: MIA archive