Slavica STEFANOVSKA 

Skopje, 11 January 2026 (MIA) - In an interview for MIA, the Mayor of the City of Skopje, Orce Gjorgjievski, says one of the most challenging years lies ahead of the city during which the focus will be fully placed on the needs of the citizens and the realization of everything that has been promised. 

Work will be done to improve infrastructure, boost green surfaces, restore public enterprises to their full capacity. “This year,” he stresses, “will be a year of significant capital investments and a real revival of Skopje, so that the citizens can once again feel the city as their own, proud and dignified again, while also making sure we leave it like that for the coming generations”. 

The Mayor reiterates that the focus in 2026 will be on “big, serious, and visionary projects” that will turn Skopje into a dignified and proud city that can stand side by side with the European capitals. 

“This will be the year in which Skopje becomes one big construction site, but also the year in which the foundations will be laid for a city that we will all be proud of. Because Skopje and its citizens deserve much more – they deserve a city that pays them back with quality life, security, and a perspective for the future,” Gjorgjievski says. 

A special emphasis, according to the Mayor, will be placed on improving the city’s infrastructure, as well as restoring the public enterprises to their full capacity. The Mayor adds that things have already drastically changed in the public enterprises. 

“When I took over, we found collapsed public enterprises, unpaid employees, a system that wasn’t working. This is in the past now. The public enterprises are working, order has been established,” the Skopje Mayor tells MIA. 

Gjorgjievski adds that through the development programs planned in the budget, the city will work to expand the capacities of Public Dog Shelter “Lajka”, invest in the protection and maintenance of cultural heritage, as well as in public greenery. “All of this,” he emphasizes, “is a part of a broader vision – Skopje to be cleaner, more humane, and a nicer place for living.” 

According to the Mayor of the country’s capital, work will also be done to build an amusement park “and, after more than a decade, a space will finally be created where the people of Skopje, especially the youngest, will be able to enjoy facilities worthy of a modern European city”. At the same time, Gjorgjievski says serious focus this year will also be placed on road infrastructure. 

Gjorgjievski says Skopje will get its first urban underground road, which he notes will launch a completely new era in the city’s development. According to the Mayor, this project will seriously ease congestion in Skopje’s central urban zone, and ensure faster traffic flow and a considerably improved quality of life for the citizens. 

“This road will be a symbol of the new era, a symbol of the courage to do something that no one has dared to begin for decades now. A project that will become a part of history and, above all, a project that is being realized solely for the citizens, to ensure a higher quality of life, less stress, and a city in which one can live with dignity,” the Mayor stresses. 

In the interview the Mayor also touches upon Skopje European Capital of Culture 2028, adding that at one point there were serious indications the city would lose this status. 

“When I took over the mayoral post, I encountered a completely blocked process, managed contrary to the legal norms, without a clear vision, without transparency and with serious institutional weaknesses. Instead of excuses, we decided to immediately get to work. With strong focus, clear responsibility, and a dedicated team, in the past period we managed to unblock the entire process and lead it to professional, legal, and transparent functioning. Today, with full responsibility and pride, I can say that Skopje remains a European Capital of Culture for 2028 – and is not just formally, but also meaningfully prepared for that role,” Skopje Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski tells MIA. 

Photo: Orce Gjorgjievski