The cities of Kicevo and Ohrid will be connected by a motorway, an investment 375 million Euros worth. The motorway will be 57 kilometers long and is expected to make the transport of passengers and goods easier and faster, and to contribute to the economic and tourist development.

The motorway construction activities were started today by laying the foundation stone near the village Izvor close to the city of Kicevo, in presence of the Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Government Ministers, Ambassadors, Mayors…
– The investment for this capital project is estimated at about 375 million Euros, which makes it the biggest infrastructural investment in the last 50 years in Macedonia, said Prime Minister Gruevski.

– All the motorways built in the country in the last 50 years cost less than the Kicevo – Ohrid Motorway investment, he emphasized. That is the best description of this project’s value. Never and nobody before has made such a big investment in a motorway in the Republic of Macedonia, said Gruevski, pointing out that the financing was obtained with a particularly favorable loan of the EXIM Bank from the PR China.
According to the design, the new motorway will start at Kicevo, and via Podvis, Preseka and Pesochani arrive at Trebenishta. From there it will connect to Ohrid via Podmolje. It will be a two-lane, 25.2 meters wide motorway, with 6 overpasses and 13 underpasses, as well as a double tunnel Preseka. The construction contractor is the Chinese company “Sinohydro Corporation Limited”, and the works will begin simultaneously at three locations, and are planned to finish in four years. Several construction and other local companies will be included in the activities. According to the Contract, 51 percent of the staff engaged will be from Macedonia, i.e. from the municipalities in the surrounding area of the motorway.
The greatest benefit from the new motorway, according to the Prime Minister, will be the simpler, faster and safer communication among the settlements in the regions of Kicevo, Ohrid and Struga. “Equally important is the communication of the western region of the country with the capital Skopje and the rest of the Republic of Macedonia. One of the many contributions of this motorway’s construction will also be the economy’s dynamics during and after the motorway construction period. I expect the very beginning of the construction to open many new jobs in the construction companies that are contractors and subcontractors on this project, but also in many other companies which operations are related to civil engineering,” said Gruevski, adding that the motorway will be highly valuable for the free economic zones in Kicevo, Tetovo and Struga, for the tourism, and for the improved road safety.
Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski emphasized that the speed limit on the new motorway section will be 120 km/hour instead of the current 60 km/hour.
– This motorway section is extremely important as many citizens and tourists considered it a necessity, and considering that it leads to our most visited tourist place – Ohrid, stated Janakieski.
In four years, he added, with the construction of the motorway sections Miladinovci – Stip and Kicevo – Ohrid, as well as the motorway section Demir Kapija – Smokvica, where works are being executed in full swing, the Republic of Macedonia will be richer for new 132 kilometers of motorway network.
In addition, he announced that invitation for a concessionaire of the motorway sections Gostivar – Kicevo and Skopje – Blace is expected to be announced this year.