Skopje, 5 February 2025 (MIA) - There is still no agreement with Bulgaria on the construction of the Corridor VIII cross-border railway tunnel, but intensive talks are ongoing, and it is a matter of weeks, not months, when we will be able to come out with positive news if there is goodwill on the Bulgarian side, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski told journalists Wednesday.

“The idea is to reach an agreement with which Skopje and Sofia would connect. The agreement should consist of three elements, the one first is the construction of a joint tunnel that will connect the two countries. Unfortunately, in the previous project the tunnel literally ended halfway, in a dead-end. The second element is for Sofia to accept a clear obligation to construct its railway section from Gyueshevo to the border with Macedonia, as well as to reconstruct the section from Gyueshevo to Sofia so that there is a modern railway on their side as well. The third obligation is for us to carry out a revision of the project, which we are already doing, since it is impossible for the project to be so expensive,” Nikoloski said in answer to a journalist’s question regarding the cross-border tunnel.

The Minister also highlighted the significance of the arrival of four locomotives leased from Serbia in 2024.

“This was an excellent decision since it resulted in income for Macedonian Railways and with that income, we were able to invest in the things we are promoting today, and gradually we will use fully domestic, Macedonian locomotives,” the Minister stressed. 

Photo/Video: MIA