Bulgarian Minister of Transport and his Macedonian counterpart gave start to the construction works of the railway section Kumanovo – Belyakovci

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Danail Papazov, and his Macedonian counterpart, Mile Yanakieski, gave start to the construction works of one of the most important and difficult sections of the railway part of the Pan-European Corridor VIII – from Kumanovo to Belyakovci. The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Gruevski, and Deputy Prime Ministers, Zoran Gabrovski and Vladimir Peshevski.

“This is one of the most important and difficult sections of the railway part of the Pan-European Corridor VIII”, stated Minister Papazov during the ceremony in the town of Kumanovo. He emphasized that the overall completion of Corridor Eight has a strategic interest in view of the fact that it provides one of the most direct connections from Southern Europe and the Mediterranean through the Balkans to the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Far East.

Series of forums have been held and joint declarations have been signed for the accelerated construction of the railway route of Corridor VIII on Bulgarian initiative. The section of Corridor VIII through Bulgaria is included as a priority European route - part of the trans-European transport network which enables EU funds to be used for the rail and road infrastructure development.

The Macedonian government has provided 47 million Euros for the rehabilitation of the existing section Kumanovo - Belyakovci, about 30 km with the aid of international financial institutions. (EBRD)