Skopje, 6 August 2026 (MIA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski, who attended Thursday's agreement-signing event on financing the construction of Corridor VIII railway section Kriva Palanka - Deve Bair, said the Government is demonstrating how projects can be implemented and problems from the past resolved, putting things on the right track and moving forward. 

According to Nikoloski, today's signing builds on the vision set by the Government - unlocking the potential of the country's unique position as the crossroads of two corridors, VIII and X, and thus establishing its place as the heart of the Balkans.

"The construction of Corridor VIII is one of the Government's top priorities. This is an extremely important day because after almost two years of work we are coming to a real and feasible project that can be implemented. We managed to reach an agreement with Bulgaria for the construction of a cross-border railway tunnel that is to connect the two countries. We expect the second intergovernmental meeting to be held in Skopje at the end of this month, and the message is clear - the two countries are sending a joint letter to the EU, EIB and EBRD, to provide a grant for the construction of the tunnel, which, I am convinced, will be far larger than the grant funds that have been discussed so far. This event shows how projects can be implemented, problems from the past resolved, putting things on the right track and moving forward," Nikoloski pointed out. 

He noted that the EU's Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) has provided a €149 million grant for the construction of the third section of the Corridor VIII railway. Work on the ground is to begin this year.   

"A contractor is scheduled to be selected in the fall and work will begin immediately thereafter. A tender is underway for the selection of a supervisor and it includes two phases, i.e. pre-qualification, which is in the final stages, and qualification, while the construction tender will be in one phase," said Nikoloski. 

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Minister of Finance Gordana Dimitrieska Kochoska, Deputy Head of the European Union's Delegation in Skopje, Ben Nupnau, the EBRD's Head of North Macedonia, Fatih Türkmenoğlu, the Head of the EIB Representation in North Macedonia, Björn Gabriel, as well as Macedonian Railways Infrastructure director Sinisha Ivanovski also attended the signing event at the Government on Thursday.

Photo: MIA