Washington, 12 March 2026 (MIA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski told a World Bank ministerial roundtable in Washington that a major investment cycle of several billion euros is underway in the country in the development and modernization of the corridors. He added that construction and modernization of highway sections, as well as investment in construction of a high-speed railway on Corridor X and a railway connection to the East is in the works. In addition, with the support of the World Bank, modernization of the border crossings with Albania and Bulgaria is moving forward. 

"We are lucky to have two pan-European corridors intersecting in our country. The first is Corridor X that connects the south of Europe with the north of Europe, and it is the longest corridor in Europe. The second corridor is Corridor VIII that goes from west to east, starts in Albania and ends in the port of Odessa in Ukraine, which is currently considered the second most important security corridor for NATO. We are trying to develop both corridors. We have a major investment cycle of several billion euros that we are implementing on both corridors, which then opens up new opportunities for developing business along them," Deputy PM Nikoloski pointed out. 

He highlighted capital projects currently underway in the country, the Ministry of Transport said in a press release. 

"Together with our partners and friends from the United Kingdom, we are working on the construction of a high-speed railway that should operate at up to 200 km/h for passenger traffic and 120 km/h for freight. We have signed an agreement with our Bulgarian neighbors for a joint rail connection on Corridor VIII and we are developing this corridor with financial support from the EU and several banks. We are working closely with the World Bank on the local roads project, building local roads in each municipality. We are also working on the modernization of the largest border crossing with Albania, and the largest border crossing with Bulgaria on Corridor VIII. We are also working on a project with the Customs Administration. It is a project for a new one-stop-shop, which is to make freight traffic much faster and much more efficient," said Nikoloski. 

He also noted that work is underway on a project to connect Corridor X and Corridor IV in Bulgaria, thus connecting North Macedonia to Türkiye and the Middle East. Nikoloski extended gratitude for the World Bank's support, both in terms of funds and in terms of the expertise it provides for the country.

Photo: Ministry of Transport