site.btaNorth Macedonia PM: Skopje, Sofia Committed to Building Corridor VIII Railway Tunnel

Bulgaria and North Macedonia are committed to building the cross-border railway tunnel on Corridor VIII, North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said ahead of Thursday's signing of financing agreements for the Kriva Palanka-Deve Bair railway section, MIA reported.

“Two years of intensive work have helped refine, optimize and clarify a project that previously envisaged building only one half of the tunnel, with no clarity on whether our eastern neighbour would modernize its connecting section and build the other half,” Mickoski said.

“Progress was needed in the talks with our eastern neighbour. That progress has now been achieved, agreements have been signed and both sides are committed to the tunnel, which is integral to completing the third section,” he added.

Later on Thursday, Mickoski, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski, and Finance Minister Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska are expected to attend the signing of a EUR 149 million investment grant agreement under the Western Balkans Investment Framework, along with financing agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The funding is for the Kriva Palanka–Deve Bair section of the Corridor VIII railway.

Mickoski said that if the third section ended at the tunnel entrance, Bulgaria had undertaken to modernize the line from the tunnel exit to its national railway network. He added that the tunnel was a joint project and was expected to be financed entirely through an EU grant.

Support from the European institutions showed that “when there is hard work and joint effort, something that appears difficult or impossible can become reality,” Mickoski said.

Nikoloski said the agreements would allow North Macedonia “to capitalize on its unique position at the crossroads of Corridors VIII and X and establish itself as the heart of the Balkans.”

“This is an exceptionally important day. After two years of work, we now have a realistic and implementable project. We have reached agreement with Bulgaria on building a cross-border railway tunnel linking the two countries,” Nikoloski said.

“We expect the second intergovernmental meeting to take place in Skopje by the end of this month. The message is clear: the two countries will jointly ask the EU, EIB and EBRD to provide grant financing for the tunnel. I am confident that the grant will be considerably larger than the amounts discussed so far,” he added.

Corridor VIII is an east-west transport route linking the Adriatic and Black seas. It runs from the Albanian ports of Durres and Vlore through North Macedonia to Bulgaria’s Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas.

Its central section crosses North Macedonia through Kichevo, Skopje, Kumanovo, Beljakovce and Kriva Palanka. Rail links remain missing west of Kichevo towards the Albanian border and east of Kriva Palanka towards Bulgaria. The Kumanovo-Beljakovce section of the eastern route opened to traffic in January 2025.