site.btaBulgaria and North Macedonia Confirm Commitment to Complete Missing Sections of Rail Corridor 8

Bulgaria and North Macedonia have confirmed their commitment to finalize the missing railway sections of Corridor 8. Representatives of the transport ministries of the two countries held a discussion during a meeting in Brussels organized by the Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST) of the European Commission, the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications said on Friday.

The Bulgarian side presented a roadmap for completing the railway Corridor 8 in Bulgarian territory, outlining key stages, including the planned restart by North Macedonia of the tender process for construction works on the section between Kriva Palanka and the entrance to the cross-border tunnel by the end of 2025. For the missing 2.4 km section on the Bulgarian side of the border—from Gyueshevo to the tunnel entrance—as well as for the Pernik–Radomir line, documents to launch construction procedures have been prepared and submitted for approval to the Public Procurement Agency.

Regarding the joint project to build the cross-border tunnel between Gyueshevo and Deve Bair, both sides agreed to establish working groups to finalize the text of the intergovernmental agreement, proposed by Bulgaria on January 15, 2025, by the end of July. The signing of the agreement is expected this autumn, which would pave the way for the commencement of construction works. Bulgarian representatives expressed concern that North Macedonia has not yet commented on the draft agreement regarding the construction of the cross-border tunnel, which could delay its signing. Bulgaria emphasized that it expects to receive notes and proposals for changes, if any, from its south-western neighbour as soon as possible.

During the meeting, both parties committed to exploring the most suitable options for applying for funding from the EU or other financial institutions for the joint construction of the tunnel.

The meeting was attended by Bulgaria’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Lyuben Nanov, the Chief of the Transport Minister’s Cabinet Katerina Gramatikova-Ivanova, and the Director General of the National Railway Infrastructure Company, Alexander Vetskov. Representatives from North Macedonia included the State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Stefan Volkanovski, and Sinisha Ivanovski, Director at Macedonian Railways Infrastructure.