Both Bulgaria and North Macedonia are committed to the project to build the third section of Corridor 8, said the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski before the signing today of agreements for financing the railway section "Kriva Palanka - Deve Bair", MIA reported, BTA reported.
"The past two years of hard work have crystallized, optimized and clarified this project, which previously also assumed the construction of half a tunnel, but without having a clear idea whether our eastern neighbor (Bulgaria) will modernize the section that connects the border with Bulgaria, including the other half of the tunnel," said Mickoski. "It should have been make progress in the talks with our eastern neighbor. Progress has been made, agreements have been signed, there is commitment from both sides for the tunnel, which is practically the third section of the project".
It is expected today that Mickoski and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski and Minister of Finance Gordana Dimitrievska-Kochoska will attend the signing of an agreement on the European Union's Western Balkans Investment Framework, as well as agreements with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for financing the "Kriva Palanka - Deve Bair" railway section, which is part of Corridor 8.
The EU's Western Balkans Investment Framework provides North Macedonia with a grant of 149 million euros for the construction of the third section of the Corridor 8 railway connection.
"If the third section ends with the start of the tunnel, from the completion of the tunnel "...to the connection with BDZ in Sofia, we have a promise from our eastern neighbor for a clear modernization of this section of Corridor 8 and our joint project. This is the tunnel that we expect to be fully financed with a grant from the European Commission," said Mickoski.
In his words, the support of the European institutions is proof that "when you work hard and together, something that seems difficult or impossible becomes reality."
The Minister of Transport of North Macedonia, Aleksandar Nikoloski, pointed out that the agreements to be signed today represent an opportunity for the country "to take advantage of its unique position at the crossroads of the two corridors - 8 and 10, and thus prove itself as the heart of the Balkans."
"This is an extremely significant day, because after two years of work, we are reaching a real and feasible process that can be implemented. We managed to reach an agreement with Bulgaria for the construction of cross-border railway tunnel, which should connect the two countries. We expect the second intergovernmental meeting in Skopje to take place by 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 secure a grant for the construction of a tunnel and the grant, I am sure, will be far larger than the grants that have been discussed so far," Nikoloski also noted.
The transnational East-West transport axis (Corridor 8) extends from the port of Bari in Italy to the ports of Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria. Its central part passes through North Macedonia - Kichevo, Skopje, Kumanovo, Belyakovce and Kriva Palanka. However, there are no connections in the western end (from Kichevo to the border with Albania) and in the eastern end to the border with Bulgaria, part of which (from Kumanovo to Belyakovce) was put into operation in January last year.