Skopje, 13 May 2023 (MIA) — Geotechnical tests are about to begin in preparation for the Corridor 10d construction on the Prilep – Bitola highway section, following the start of works in Prilep on Friday, the government said in a press release.

The 39.3 km long highway section would speed up travel for residents of Prilep, Krushevo, Bitola, Mogila, Novaci, Resen, and any others who live or transit through the region, the release says.

The Corridors 8 and 10d project includes the construction of 110 km of road on the highway sections Tetovo – Gostivar, Gostivar – Bukojchani, Trebenishta – Struga – Kjafasan as well as the Prilep – Bitola highway section.

They are scheduled to be built in the next four years and seven months. The contractor of the project is the US-Turkish consortium Bechtel and Enka.

This is the largest infrastructure project in the history of the country, the release says. Through integrating into the EU's Trans-European Transport Network, North Macedonia will be able to increase its economic competitiveness and progress, according to the government.

Next week, the release adds, the government and the EU will sign an annex to the agreement, through which Corridor 8 would be included in the main Western Balkan corridors of the EU's Trans-European Transport Network.

Also, these highways sections will connect the country with the port in Burgas, Bulgaria, and Durrës, Albania, the government points out.

"Equally important is Corridor 10d, which connects us to the southwest with the Republic of Greece through the Medzhitlija border crossing," the release says, adding that the new highway section would speed up travel on this route.

According to the government, the project will provide 8,000 new jobs, new investments of 1.3 billion euros, and a nominal GDP growth of 2% per year in the next five years. mr/