Corridor 8 and the €149.2 Million Grant: What's Signed Versus What's Announced
After 30 years of waiting, €149.2 million in grants and €350 million in loans have been confirmed for Corridor 8's eastern leg — the financial package for the railway section to Deve Bair is fully closed.
Agreements have been signed for a consultancy services grant and a supervising engineer to intensify work on the Corridor 8 railway, officially confirming €149.2 million in grant funding — the largest yet for this project — plus an additional €350 million in loans for Corridor 8's eastern section, toward the Kriva Palanka–Deve Bair stretch.
Minister Timcho Nikoloski said this "fully secures financing for the third phase of the railway with Bulgaria," calling the moment a significant step forward after 30 years of waiting to complete the corridor. The agreements cover hiring a supervising engineer and consultancy services to speed up construction.
It's important to distinguish what has actually been signed — the financial agreements for the grant and loans, supervision and consultancy — from what remains an announcement, namely the real deadline for completing the railway and putting it into service. Corridor 8 already has a history of delays and shifting deadlines, so the precise timeline for an actual rail link with Bulgaria remains a question only finished construction, not signed agreements, will answer.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 1, 2026
