TIRANA, March 9, 2023 – North Macedonia’s government has signed a deal with the Bechtel Enka consortium for the construction of parts of European highway corridors 8 and 10, totaling 110 kilometers.
The project is set to cost 1.3 billion euros, and is seen as transformative in connectivity with neighboring countries, including Albania.
North Macedonia is starting an important phase of highway construction — something that has been lacking in the western part of the country in particular.
The Corridor 8 project will connect Skopje through Tetovo, Gostivar and Struga to the Qafe Thane border crossing with Albania, for a total length of 68 kilometers. The highway is projected to have six lanes and the works must be completed within a period of five years.
The authorities in Skopje see this as a historic investment that will have positive effects on the economy and the lives of the citizens.
Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said that the construction of highways has a special importance for raising the quality of road infrastructure and making sure the landlocked country serves as a pathway from the Black Sea with the Adriatic.
Bechtel CEO Mark Allison said the company responsibly applies the highest standards in construction like this.
“This will improve the connection throughout the region and in North Macedonia itself,” said Mr. Allison.
Bechtel Enka is an American-Turkish joint venture already well known in Albania and Kosovo for building portions of the European corridors there too. Bechtel, on its own, is the second largest construction company in the United States.
Corridor 8 is an east-west highway system connecting Albania’s Adriatic port of Durres to Bulgaria’s Black Sea port of Varna via North Macedonia.
Recently, Albania announced it was upgrading sections of its part of the corridor to a four-lane highway to improve connectivity with North Macedonia.
Photo: Illustration.
