Kriva Palanka, 23 July 2024 (MIA) - The government will request from the EBRD and the EIB that part of the funds for construction of a railway to the border with Bulgaria be transferred for construction of a high-speed railway along Corridor 10 and rehabilitation of the existing railway on the Corridor, and this project costs EUR 250 million, Deputy PM and Minister of Transport and Communications, Aleksandar Nikoloski, said during Tuesday's inspection of construction works on the Rankovce-Kriva Palanka road. Asked about the railway that ends in a tunnel, Nikolski pointed out that there is a long-standing will to build a railway and connect it with Sofia, but such a move, he added, requires serious talks with Bulgaria.  

"Such a move requires serious talks with Bulgaria, to see if this is the best project, if they can carry it out on their part, and if there are alternative, cheaper solutions that we would build together, in order to realize a project that is sustainable and not that expensive," Nikoloski said. 

He noted that there is currently a railway between Skopje and Kumanovo, and the first section from Kumanovo to Beljakovce is nearing completion.

"The same contractor is building it this time and they are doing serious work. It is the Austrian construction company Strabag. Furthermore, the second phase is being constructed from Beljakovce to Kriva Palanka, unfortunately it is moving at a very slow pace, only 15 percent has been completed due to a non-serious contractor on that route. And the third route, the one we are talking about now, starts near Kriva Palanka to the border with Bulgaria. That project has several flaws. First, it passes through Kriva Palanka and is to destroy 20 houses. These are 20 families whose lives will be destroyed. Second, given that it passes through a mountain range, the trains will not be able to move at more than 60 kilometres per hour, and the point is to get there faster and not slower. Third, it ends in a tunnel that leads nowhere on the other side, because we can only build it up to our territory, and Bulgarians have no project for the other side at all," said Nikoloski.

He pointed out that there is a railway on the Bulgarian side near Gyueshevo but there is no railway to the border, adding that in the end that railway cannot be connected to anything.

"Whether Bulgarians will build one and when is a question to which we still do not have an answer. Also, that project includes building 22 tunnels along only 24 kilometres of railway, which I believe you will all agree is unrealistic, there is no contractor in Europe who will be able to build 22 tunnels in a period of four years. There is none, and therefore serious companies do not apply," Nikoloski said. 

The Deputy PM and Transport Minister Nikoloski added that the estimated value for the 24 kilometres is EUR 452 million, and it costs a total of EUR 560 million including supervision, technical support and electrification, of which EUR 350 million are loans.

"Loans that future generations will have to pay back with interest, which means this will be the most expensive railway in Europe. A kilometre will cost somewhere around EUR 24 million. Just for comparison, a high-speed railway that runs at 200 kilometres per hour costs between EUR 10-12 million per kilometre. An ordinary railway is much cheaper. Now a logical question is whether it is worth spending EUR 560 million of people's money in a poor Macedonia, where we are grateful for EUR 14 million donation for a railway that is supposed to destroy part of the city of Kriva Palanka, to run at 60 kilometres per hour, to theoretically have 22 tunnels and end in a tunnel that leads nowhere, i.e. such a railway will never be completed, we will just waste away the money, and we will have a situation where in 10 years we will still be talking about the railway not being completed," Nikoloski said. 

Photo: MIA