NORTH MACEDONIA: A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to mark the start of civil works to complete the long-planned rail link between North Macedonia and Bulgaria.
Intended to link the two capitals of Skopje and Sofia, the completed through route would form part of pan-European Corridor VIII. The promoters hope that trains could start running between the two countries by 2030.
The route will branch off the Corridor X main line linking Skopje with Beograd in Serbia at Kumanovo, from where an existing line runs east to Beljakovtse. Thisis to be extended through Kriva Palanka to the border, where it would meet an extension of the Bulgarian network near Gyueshevo.
The works on the North Macedonian section will require the boring of 5·5 km of tunnels, and are due to be completed by the end of 2027.
In August, Strabag was awarded a €40m contract to undertake work on the reconstruction of the Kumanovo – Beljakovtse line, which has been out of use since 1994. Gülermak has been awarded a €155m contract to build the 34 km of new alignment from Beljakovtse to Kriva Palanka.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by dignitaries including North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski and his Bulgarian counterpart Galab Donev.
