North Macedonia Secures €149 Million Grant for Railway to Bulgaria — Agreements Signed for Kriva Palanka–Deve Bair Section

The government today signed amendments to the financing agreements and the grant agreement for the "Construction of a new railway section Kriva Palanka–border with the Republic of Bulgaria" project, the third section of the Corridor 8 railway. The signing secures the full financial package for the project's realisation — a €149 million grant from the European Union, supplemented by €175 million in credit lines.

The agreements were signed by Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Kočoska, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski, JP MŽ Infrastructure director Siniša Ivanovski, EBRD director Fatih Türkmenoğlu, and the head of the EIB's Skopje office, Bjørn Gabriel, in the presence of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.

A Link Between Two Seas

Minister Dimitrieska-Kočoska said the new financial structure allows uninterrupted continuation of one of the country's most significant infrastructure projects — one that will provide better connectivity between the Adriatic and Black Seas, greater economic integration, and easier movement of people and goods across the region.

Minister Nikoloski noted that building Corridor 8 remains one of the government's top priorities, adding that reaching an agreement with Bulgaria on constructing the cross-border railway tunnel had been a particularly challenging process over the past two years.

Context: Earlier Delays

The project previously faced financial setbacks — the country lost over €60 million in IPA fund grants earmarked for the same section, due to missed deadlines and delays in implementation. Today's new financing structure, combining an EU grant with credit lines from the EBRD and EIB, is an attempt to offset those lost funds through an alternative financing source, allowing the project to proceed without further delay.

MKNews Hub · Economy · 6 August 2026