Skopje, 12 September 2023 (MIA) — Works on the Corridor 8 construction project begin near the village of Gorna Banjica on Tuesday with rock blasting to level the area for the 30.1-kilometer highway between Gostivar and Bukojchani.

First Deputy Prime Minister and Corridors 8 and 10d Construction Coordinator Artan Grubi is set to attend the start of works done by the US-Turkish consortium Bechtel and Enka.

He will be joined by Minister of Transport and Communications Blagoj Bochvarski and State Roads Public Enterprise director Ejup Rustemi.

Bechtel and Enka has been granted 243 million euros from the national budget for building the highway sections Tetovo – Gostivar, Gostivar - Bukojchani, Trebenishta – Struga – Kjafasan on Corridor 8 and the Prilep – Bitola highway section on Corridor 10d.

The consortium has so far been paid two tranches: of 117 million euros and 53 million euros, in line with the 2023 Road Infrastructure Financing Program for the construction of Corridor 8 and Corridor 10d. mr/