Nikoloski announces 2 expressways toward Bulgaria and a Kičevo–Ohrid–Struga railway to Albania
Construction of the roads is announced for next year if funds are secured, and length, cost and financing are not stated.
Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski on October 28, at a meeting with representatives of the German Economic Chamber and the Macedonian-German Business Association, said that infrastructure is a top priority for attracting new foreign investors and keeping existing ones. Germany is North Macedonia’s number one trading partner. The topic was carried by several outlets, among them Skopje1, Vecer, Expres, Macedonian Radio-Television and Republika. Yesterday’s text on Corridors 8 and 10 was about the size of the investment, while this one lays out the routes.
Expressway 1. It connects Kočani, Vinica and Delčevo to the border with Bulgaria.
Expressway 2. It connects Radoviš, Strumica and Novo Selo to the border with Bulgaria.
For neither of the two roads are an official name, length, cost or source of financing given. Construction is expected next year but, as the minister said, if the necessary funds are secured.
The railway to Bulgaria. The tender for the third section has been published through an EU procedure, and bids are expected in four months. Nikoloski expects interest from German companies. It is the same section we wrote about in connection with Corridor 8.
The Corridor 8 railway toward the west. Reconstruction and modernization is planned for the line from Skopje through Jegunovce, Tetovo and Gostivar, then an upgrade of the Gostivar–Kičevo section, and a new line from Kičevo through Ohrid and Struga to the Albanian border. That is the railway link to Albania from the headline.
What is missing. Of the five pieces of information that matter most for an infrastructure project, none is stated: cost, length, source of financing, exact start of construction and contractor. Instead, there are route directions and expectations for next year.
The link with German investors. The audience at the event was business, not political: the German Economic Chamber and the Macedonian-German Business Association. The message to them is that infrastructure will improve and the tender for the railway to Bulgaria is open to them. No figure for German investment has been published, so we do not assess how much interest there really is.
Three questions to follow. First, when the deadline for bids for the railway ends, which is in about four months. Second, whether a price and a source of financing for the expressways will appear before construction starts next year. Third, when a tender will be published for the new line from Kičevo to the Albanian border.
What does it mean? The announcement gives clear geography: two eastern roads toward Bulgaria and a western railway to Albania. Whether it turns into construction will be seen after the tenders and after the money is secured. So it is worth following the date of the bids for the railway and whether concrete amounts appear for the roads.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 29, 2026
