Skopje, 1 July 2025 (MIA) - Corridors VIII and X are economically and strategically very important for the country, which is why the Government has launched an investment cycle to develop them, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski told France 24 in an interview during his working visit to France.

“It is no secret that the Balkan wars and the First World War were fought around Macedonia. Two pan-European corridors intersect just east of our capital, Skopje, which is a unique case in the entire South-Eastern Europe. That is Corridor X, which is the most important trade corridor in Europe, it connects the southern Greek ports like Athens port and Thessaloniki port with Central and North Europe and it cuts the supply chain by 22 days... The second corridor is Corridor VIII, which connects the Ionian and Adriatic Sea with the Black Sea. The NATO Alliance declared it as the second most important corridor for NATO because it is an alternative route for supply of Ukraine. We want to develop both of them, for us it is strategically very important but economically very important as well. On Corridor X there is already a full line of highways now we are starting to construct fast railway – 220 kilometers per hour passenger, 120 kilometers per hour freight. And, as well on Corridor VIII, we are developing the highway, we expect to finish by 2029,” Nikoloski said.

Nikoloski stressed that work is also being done on Corridor VIII railway.

“So we have huge plans, plans that are exceeding our domestic economy and the domestic performance that’s why we are looking for international friends and that’s why we signed a government-to-government agreement with the United Kingdom where we have 5 billion pounds or 6 billion euro at disposal for these kinds of projects. I am looking for something similar in France, and we are looking for that kind of partnership with other countries in Europe as well,” Deputy PM Nikoloski underscored in the interview.

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