Skopje, 14 September 2022 (MIA) – Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski said Wednesday that all preparatory activities are underway for the resumption of construction of the railway to Bulgaria. “We will be on site soon, all preparatory activities are underway and we will look into the construction with mechanization,” Minister Bochvarski told reporters in Strumica. Minister Bochvarski pointed out that the chosen contractors for two of the three railway sections, Kumanovo-Beljakovce and Beljakovce-Kriva Palanka, are mobilizing their mechanization and expert teams so they enter the realization phase. “I’d like to point out that the selected companies are mobilizing their mechanization and expert teams so they enter realization. We’ve announced to be on site this fall with the media and the citizens to start work on the greatest infrastructural project in railroad infrastructure since the country’s independence until now, with an investment of over EUR 200 million, to connect North Macedonia and Bulgaria. This is important because of Corridor VIII which is very important to the business sector, so that we can help companies have an alternative to transport heavy cargo transport through railways as well,” Bochvarski said. PE for Railway Infrastructure - Railways of the Republic of Macedonia signed a contract with the Austrian company Strabag which is meant to finish the reconstruction and finish the construction of the first section, where there hasn’t been work on site since June 2020, as well as the Turkish company Gülermak for the full construction of the second section. A tender for the selection of a contractor should be published by the end of the year for the third section, from Kriva Palanka to the Bulgarian border. dk/ik/