Border Crossings: Bulgaria - North Macedonia: Difference between revisions
m (EU support for Kumanovo - Deve Bair) |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
Note that there is a one hour time difference between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. | Note that there is a one hour time difference between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. | ||
==(Skopje - Kumanovo -) | ==(Skopje - Kumanovo -) Deve Bair MŽ - Gjueshevo BDŽ (- Sofia)== | ||
This route has been planned for many years. | This route has been planned for many years and part of the line from Kumanovo as far as Beljakovce was completed as long ago as 1956. Having previously been identified as part of Pan-European Corridor VIII it was also adopted as part of the EU Western Balkans expansion as a strategic east-west corridor and funding assistance was arranged. Rehabilitation of the Kumanovo - Beljakovce section began in March 2014 with completion targeted within two years, but it was delayed several times and on 29 May 2020 the contractors terminated the contract with the work only around half complete. | ||
The EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans published in October 2020 identified this route as one of their flagship investment priorities. In October 2021, Ministers from Bulgaria, Albania and North Macedonia signed an agreement to complete the entire Corridor VIII route through their countries by 2030. By the start of 2022 the EU had made €283m available in loans and grants for the Kumanovo – Deve Bair line. | |||
No work has yet been undertaken on the Bulgarian side of the border. | No work has yet been undertaken on the Bulgarian side of the border. | ||
Revision as of 14:42, 3 February 2022
Note that there is a one hour time difference between Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
(Skopje - Kumanovo -) Deve Bair MŽ - Gjueshevo BDŽ (- Sofia)
This route has been planned for many years and part of the line from Kumanovo as far as Beljakovce was completed as long ago as 1956. Having previously been identified as part of Pan-European Corridor VIII it was also adopted as part of the EU Western Balkans expansion as a strategic east-west corridor and funding assistance was arranged. Rehabilitation of the Kumanovo - Beljakovce section began in March 2014 with completion targeted within two years, but it was delayed several times and on 29 May 2020 the contractors terminated the contract with the work only around half complete.
The EU’s Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans published in October 2020 identified this route as one of their flagship investment priorities. In October 2021, Ministers from Bulgaria, Albania and North Macedonia signed an agreement to complete the entire Corridor VIII route through their countries by 2030. By the start of 2022 the EU had made €283m available in loans and grants for the Kumanovo – Deve Bair line.
No work has yet been undertaken on the Bulgarian side of the border.
