Implementation of Corridors 8 and 10-d contract begins today

Skopje, 22 April 2023 (MIA) - The Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Public Enterprise for State Roads said the implementation of the contract on the construction of Corridors 8 and 10-d begins on Saturday.

According to the contract, preparatory works, construction staking, preparation of urban projects, basic projects, in order to start the procedures for expropriation and design, start as of Saturday.

In addition, mobilization of staff, preparing locations to set up camps for the construction operation, analysis and calculation of offset survey points and elevations, preparing procedures for geotechnical investigations also begins.

The construction of Corridors 8 and 10-d is of strategic interest for the country. The implementation of this largest infrastructure project completes the corridor highway connection of the Republic of North Macedonia with Europe and the region. This facilitates movement of goods, services and capital, and most importantly, enables safe traffic, said the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Public Enterprise for State Roads.

In a press release on Friday, the Public Enterprise for State Roads said the hiring of workers for the construction of Corridor 8 and Corridor 10-d will be carried out in accordance with the current law, i.e. in accordance with the law on public interest, to nominate a strategic partner for the implementation of the project on the construction of Corridor 8 and Corridor 10, adopted in 2021, and published in the Official Gazette on July 16, 2021.

"Article 11, paragraph (3), which regulates the hiring of workers, clearly states an obligation for the strategic partner to use at least 51% of local resources. This means that if our country has enough local resources, i.e. workforce, the number of locally hired resources can be higher than 51%," said the Public Enterprise for State Roads.

Following reactions of the opposition that the Bechtel and Enka contract is being kept secret, the Government said on Friday that government officials and members of the Committee on the Construction of Corridors 8 and 10-d, who are involved in the largest infrastructure project, will present the documentation and details of the contract on the construction of the corridors, in an appropriate parliamentary procedure.

The aim is for the MPs to be informed on the content and all the details of the contract on the construction of the two corridors, which are of their interest. The contract will be presented to all MPs who possess an appropriate security certificate.

The Bechtel and Enka consortium signed an EUR 1.3 billion contract with the State Roads Public Enterprise for the construction of four highway sections of Corridors 8 and 10. The construction on the Tetovo – Gostivar; Gostivar – Bukojchani; and Prilep – Bitola highway sections begins on April 22, and on the Trebenishta – Struga – Kjafasan section on December 12. According to announcements, an average of 25 kilometers will be constructed per year, and a kilometer will cost EUR 12 million.