Kičevo–Ohrid by the first quarter of 2027: which infrastructure deadlines are set and which are still only announcements
From the Kičevo–Ohrid motorway to the railway toward Bulgaria, there are deadlines, but for some there is no confirmation that they are on schedule.
North Macedonia has several large infrastructure projects with deadlines between the end of 2026 and September 2027. This overview gathers Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski's public announcements from May and June and separates the elements that are settled, such as financing and contractor, from those that are still only a deadline. The announcements are not new, so for each of them it should be checked whether the deadline still holds.
The Kičevo–Ohrid motorway. On May 1, Mickoski said it will be fully open to traffic “at the latest in the first quarter of 2027”. The loan from China's Exim Bank was cancelled, and the project is financed by a syndicate of domestic commercial banks, which he said guarantees completion. On June 9 he said 175 million euros had been secured from domestic banks. The Izvor–Vrbjani section, he said, was to open by October 2026, the Vrbjani–Botun section is already open, and Kičevo to Ivanin Dol is expected between January and March 2027. About three kilometers near Bukojčani must then be connected to the road being built by the Bechtel and Enka consortium.
Bukojčani–Kičevo. The project is worth 220 million euros and is financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The start of works was expected in September or October 2026. Blace–Skopje is worth 215 million euros; the tender evaluation had been completed and the appeal against the initial decision rejected at second instance, and construction was to begin the following month from the June announcement.
Bechtel and Enka are building Tetovo–Gostivar, Gostivar–Bukojčani and Prilep–Bitola. For Prilep–Bitola the deadline is September 2027. The Kočani–Vinica–Delčevo expressway is in the design phase, and Romanovce–Stracin is on the agenda.
Railway. For the second section near Kriva Palanka 125 million euros have been paid so far, and the Romanovce–Kriva Palanka tunnels have been bored through. Agreements with Bulgaria are signed, and North Macedonia is obligated to build the section from Kriva Palanka to the tunnel entrance. The Skopje–Jegunovce–Tetovo–Gostivar line is in design and after reconstruction could reach 120 kilometers per hour.
What is settled and what is not? The most secure are the elements that have financing and a contractor: Kičevo–Ohrid with the domestic banks, Bukojčani–Kičevo with the EBRD, and the Bechtel and Enka sections. Least certain are those that depend on the start of construction, like Blace–Skopje, and those still in design, like Kočani–Vinica–Delčevo.
Mickoski said money is not the main constraint. The bigger limits are the capacity of domestic companies for parallel projects, in both people and construction equipment. The government holds regular talks with the Economic Chamber to keep more of the money in the domestic economy. That capacity is the key variable: even with financing secured, the deadline depends on how many projects firms can run at the same time.
What is not known? I could not find confirmation of whether the Izvor–Vrbjani section opened by October 2026, or whether works on Bukojčani–Kičevo and Blace–Skopje actually began within the announced deadlines. Those data are the most important for judging whether the final deadline of the first quarter of 2027 is realistic.
What does it mean? The deadline for Kičevo–Ohrid is concrete and has a financial basis, but the remaining deadlines should be read as targets until confirmed by data from the field. The best test for the public is the openings of sections announced by the government itself.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 20, 2026
