Skopje, 14 November 2025 (MIA) — A contractor for the construction of the Skopje to Blace and Kichevo to Bukojchani highways will be selected in December and if weather conditions permit, work will begin immediately; otherwise, construction will begin in the spring, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski in a TV Alsat interview Friday evening.

He said a high number of bids had been submitted to the tender call.

"There are serious bids and at least three of them are within the budget for Skopje to Blace, and there are also three bids for the Kichevo to Bukojchani highway," Nikoloski said, adding that the state had taken out a loan of EUR 166 million from the EBRD and received an investment grant of EUR 30 million from the EU for the highway construction. 

"I expect us to select a contractor in the first half of December and, depending on the weather conditions, to have them start working. That deadline is short – 2.5 years," he said.

The Deputy PM also spoke about plans regarding the Skopje perimeter road, a new highway between Tetovo and Gostivar as well as a highway to the Strazha mountain pass.

"We are working on a project for the complete reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Skopje Bypass, which goes from Arachinovo to Gjorche Petrov. We are working on a new Tetovo to Gostivar highway. The dynamics there are great. We have had some problems with the demolition of some buildings, but they are being resolved. The land is being expropriated. We are also working on the Gostivar to Bukojchani, the popular Strazha, a project that is a matter of personal pride for me, because it is a very hard and complicated engineering project. Of the 33 km of the entire route, the first 17 km have been broken through," he said.

The transport minister also said new sections of the Kichevo to Ohrid highway would be open to traffic in the first half of December. mr/