Skopje, 8 February 2023 (MIA) — At a meeting held Wednesday to discuss the state’s investments into railway infrastructure and regional connectivity, Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski spoke with Community of European Railways executive director Alberto Mazzola about ongoing Corridor 8 railway construction and asked for support from European partners for completing the western part of the railway. 

Also attending the meeting was National Railways Infrastructure head Hari Lokvenec, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said in a press release.

“The meeting was of exceptional importance for the support of the country’s railway system development,” the release says. 

“Regional connectivity is of strategic importance for the Republic of North Macedonia and that is why we asked our friends from Europe to support us in completing Corridor 8. We remain seriously committed to the construction of the railway to Bulgaria. It is a challenge in these times of economic crisis to implement all investment plans in the railway sector,” Minister Bochvarski is quoted as saying in the release.

Construction on the eastern part of the Corridor 8 railway restarted at the end of October last year after a hiatus of more than two years. The eastern part consists of three railway sections with a total length of 89 kilometers (31km from Kumanovo to Beljakovce; 34 km from Beljakovce to Kriva Palanka; 24 km from Kriva Palanka to the Bulgarian border). 

The western part of the Corridor 8 railway, from Kichevo to the Albanian border, is 63 kilometers. The construction paperwork was done in 2017, and the total value is around EUR 500 million. The state plans to complete the eastern part by 2027 and the western one by 2030. mr/