Skopje, 3 November 2023 (MIA) - The model that is currently applied when building roads does not produce the desired effects and prolongs deadlines, Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski told the Road Infrastructure Conference in Ohrid on Friday.

Minister Bochvarski said the need for a new model is the answer to the development of the construction sector, infrastructure and general economic development, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said in a press release.

"The new concept involves design and construction in parallel, thus saving a lot of time, instead of doing it as before - design of the entire route before construction. We aim to speed up the construction of capital projects, which does not mean they will lack quality. On the contrary, the state's controlling mechanisms remain in place and we focus on cutting red tape. I am sure the new concept will produce results, projects will be built faster and citizens will not suffer from delays. This model will be used for all state roads, not only the motorways currently built by Bechtel-Enka," said Bochvarski.

State Roads director Ejup Rustemi referred to the challenges that the public enterprise has faced when building road infrastructure, saying now is the time to change the concept so that roads are constructed in a fast and efficient way.

"I believe we have made the right step by implementing this new concept for infrastructure projects. According to statistics, we have annually built 5.8 km of motorways until now, whereas the new concept ensures the construction of over 20 km per year," noted Rustemi.

Photo: Ministry of Transport and Communications