The Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, and the Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Office in Skopje, Fatih Türkmenoğlu, signed a Grant Agreement at the Government of North Macedonia.
“Today, we are signing a grant agreement between the Public Enterprise for State Roads and the EBRD, which is part of the EU–Western Balkans Investment Framework in the amount of €30.8 million, along with a €167.6 million loan for the construction of the Skopje–Blace motorway. The section to be built is 10.5 kilometers long, and together with the previously completed 1.5 kilometers, the total motorway length will be 12 kilometers. The motorway will have a total width of 24.5 meters. This road is intended to bring the citizens of Macedonia and Kosovo closer together. The investment plays a vital role in the economic and social development of the country’s northeastern region and will facilitate international transport and trade in the region,” said Koce Trajanovski, Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, prior to the signing of the Grant Agreement.
The signing of the Grant Agreement between the Public Enterprise for State Roads and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), concerning an investment grant from the European Union–Western Balkans Joint Fund for the TEN-T Highway Project (North Macedonia–Kosovo Border), is in fact an investment grant agreement that completes the financial structure for the implementation of the project to construct the motorway from Skopje (Stenkovec Interchange) to the Blace border crossing, covering a distance of approximately 10.5 kilometers.
The ceremonial signing was also attended by, and included addresses from, the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, the Deputy President of the Government, Aleksandar Nikoloski, and the EU Ambassador, Michalis Rokas.
The Skopje–Blace motorway section will begin at the Stenkovec Interchange and end at the interchange located near the village of Blace. The planned motorway will consist of two carriageways, each with two traffic lanes measuring 3.5 meters in width and one 2.5 meters wide emergency lane. The total designed width of the motorway will be approximately 24.5 meters. Due to the specific characteristics of the terrain, which is hilly and mountainous and forms part of the Skopska Crna Gora mountain range, the motorway route includes the construction of numerous structures: 11 underpasses, 8 bridges, 4 galleries, 9 retaining walls, and 5 twin-tube tunnels.
By securing this loan together with the non-repayable investment grant, and through the construction of the Skopje–Blace motorway, travel times will be significantly reduced, road safety will be improved, and vehicle operating and maintenance costs will decrease.