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.

The Public Enterprise for State Roads is expanding the availability of M‑Tag devices for electronic toll collection by broadening its sales network. Through a strategic partnership with the mobile operators A1 Macedonia and Macedonian Telecom, these devices are now more easily accessible to citizens via their retail outlets across the country.

The Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, together with the Chief Executive Officers of A1 Macedonia, Metodija Mirchev, and Macedonian Telecom, Goran Markovikj, formalized the cooperation as a direct response to drivers’ needs for faster and more efficient service.

Previously, M‑Tag devices could only be purchased at toll stations or at PESR offices in Skopje downtown. With this new arrangement, citizens can now obtain their M-Tag device conveniently from the nearest retail location of either mobile operator.

“Our ultimate goal is to modernize the toll collection system while minimizing manual intervention. By encouraging electronic payment, we enable faster vehicle flow, enhance safety, and most importantly, eliminate opportunities for system misuse,” stated the Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski.

Alongside digitalization efforts, PESR is also actively improving physical infrastructure. Construction has recently begun on the expansion of the Miladinovci toll station, aimed at eliminating congestion at this key point. During the construction period, drivers are advised to use the nearby Petrovec toll station, which offers greater capacity.

Today, an on-site inspection was made of the construction activities on the motorway sections Gostivar-Bukojchani and Kichevo-Ohrid, both part of the Corridor VIII, which is one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the country.

The Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, together with the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, and the Vice-President of the Government, Aleksandar Nikoloski, during their inspection along the route, noted a significant progress of works, good on-site organization and a high level of engagement of machinery and workforce.

Corridor VIII is strategically important for the country and represents a key project for improving road connectivity, increasing traffic safety and stimulating economic development. The implementation of these sections will further position the country as an important transit route and an active part of the European transport networks.

“In terms of construction activities on the Gostivar–Bukojchani section, work is currently actively taking place on 11 kilometers out of the planned 31 kilometers. A camp for 1,200 people and a concrete production facility are in operation. Bridge B0070 at the seventh kilometer is fully passable, and final works on the roadway are ongoing. Works are also actively underway on two bridges, one overpass, and slope protection near Gostivar and surrounding settlements. The overall progress on this section amounts to 59.98%. On the Tetovo–Gostivar section, work is also proceeding smoothly on approximately 14 out of a total of 17.5 kilometers, with active infrastructure and earthworks without disrupting traffic in the surrounding settlements,” said the Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, in a statement to the media.

On the Kichevo–Ohrid motorway, in addition to the construction of 6 road galleries and 8 retaining walls, planned reforestation of slopes has also been carried out to ensure their long-term stabilization and protection against erosion. In the period from November to February, 200,000 seedlings were planted across four subsections. Pine, acacia, and maple trees were planted, and monitoring shows excellent progress of the seedlings. This activity contributes to increased road safety and environmental improvement.

The Kichevo–Ohrid motorway, with a total length of 57 kilometers, is entering its final phase. The total value of the project amounts to €803 million, of which approximately €629 million have been realized so far. A total of 953 workers and over 400 construction machines are engaged on-site under the leadership of Sinohydro, along with domestic companies Granit and Ilinden. The project is progressing with stable financial dynamics and a focus on high-quality and safe road infrastructure.

Rehabilitation works on the Preseka pass continue on the sections Izvor–Vrbjani and Botun–Klimeshtani, with a total length of 15.1 kilometers. The project is worth approximately €6.5 million, with current implementation at 50%. Activities are underway for laying new asphalt and installing modern safety equipment. The completion deadline is October 2026.

The competent institutions and the Government remain fully committed to continuously monitoring project implementation, meeting deadlines, and ensuring modern and safe road infrastructure in the interest of citizens and the long-term development of the country.

Following the initial signing of Amendment No. 8 to the Contract for Construction of the Kichevo–Ohrid Motorway by the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for the political system, Ljupcho Dimovski, and by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Aleksandar Nikolovski, today the Amendment was also signed by the Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, and the General Representative of Sinohydro in Macedonia, Mr. Chen Chen.

The purpose of the Amendment No. 8 to the Contract is to enable the completion of works on the motorway currently under construction, providing for an additional 186 million euros and setting a final completion deadline of 31 May 2027. This is necessary due to unforeseen and additional new construction works that are required and essential for the full and high‑quality completion of the project, including activities related to:

1. Remediation of 14 landslides and ensuring overall slope stability
2. Installation of elastic safety barriers in accordance with the EN 1317 standard
3. Construction of a control center
4. Additional works for the construction of parallel roads

With this, the project challenges related to slopes and landslides have been addressed, allowing construction activities to continue at an intensified pace.

In the previous period, especially last year, with strong support from the Government, the progress of the project accelerated. Thus, on 13 July, 7 September, and 31 December 2025, early commissioning was enabled for 13.5 km, 12.34 km, and 2.12 km of the first sections of the main route from Vrbjani to Botun, as well as from Klimeshtani to Ohrid, with a total length of 27.96 km across both carriageways. In addition, parts of the access roads to the surrounding villages were also constructed, achieving significant results throughout various phases of the construction.

The Public Enterprise for State Roads has successfully completed the rehabilitation of State Road A2, the Kriva Palanka bypass—an important infrastructure project aimed at improving safety and regional connectivity.

The Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, together with the President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, the Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski, numerous politicians, advisors, and media representatives, went for an on-site inspection and confirmed the quality of the months-long rehabilitation project.

The section is 4.5 kilometers long and 7.5 meters wide, with two traffic lanes of 3.5 meters each and shoulders 1.30 meters wide. On the subsection passing through a populated area, 4 meters wide sidewalks were constructed on the right side and 2 to 2.5 meters on the left side, further enhancing pedestrian safety. The Contractor was the company Granit, while supervision was carried out by Euro Consulting in cooperation with Diwi Macedonia.

The total investment value amounts to 74,750,504 denars, or 1,215,455 euros. As part of the project, two bridges were reconstructed and reinforced, six culverts were cleaned and repaired, new modern vertical and horizontal road signage was installed, as well as new steel safety barrier compliant with the European EN1317 standard.

In terms of construction activities, the roadway underwent both single-layer and double-layer pavement rehabilitation. On the most damaged sections, the existing pavement structure was completely removed and replaced with a new base layer and double asphalt layers to ensure durability and higher construction quality.

With the completion of this project, traffic safety is significantly improved, vehicle maintenance costs are reduced, and travel comfort is increased. The section functionally connects to the express road toward Stracin to the west and to the reconstructed road leading to the Deve Bair Border Crossing to the east.

The Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, emphasized: “Today we are speaking about an important infrastructure project—the rehabilitation of State Road A2, the Kriva Palanka bypass. With this investment, we significantly improve the safety, quality, and functionality of this road corridor. This is not just a road reconstruction—this is an investment in the development of the region, in a safer future, and in better connectivity of our country.”

The Public Enterprise for State Roads continues with the implementation of projects for modernization and improvement of the national road network in the interest of citizens and the country’s economic development.

Gostivar–Bukojchani is one of the four sections that are being constructed along Corridor 8 and Corridor 10, and uninterrupted construction works have currently been enabled on nearly 35% of the total length, i.e., works are underway on 11 km out of a total of 31 km, specifically from the 4th to the 13th kilometer.

It was precisely along this section that the Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski, together with the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, the Minister of Transport, Aleksandar Nikoloski, H.E. Nicole Varnes, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America, representatives of Bechtel and Enka, and other politicians, conducted an on-site inspection of the route to be assured of the works progress.”

Director Koce Trajanovski stated for the media that works progress has been excellent even during the winter period, that construction is actively underway on four bridges and one overpass, and that the twin bridge crossing the valley and the existing irrigation (water supply) canal is a major engineering undertaking and one of the largest in the country, with a length of 386 meters.

“The bridge has a total of 22 piers, with the highest pier reaching nearly 41 meters, and an overall width of 24.52 m. Each carriageway is 11.57 m wide and contains two traffic lanes of 3.50 m each, and one stopping lane with a width of 2.75 m. Between them there is a safety zone—the so-called New Jersey barriers—measuring 80 cm (50 cm + 30 cm). In addition, New Jersey barriers with a width of 51 cm have been implemented at both ends of the bridge. The bridge is in the final stage of construction, and both carriageways are already passable to traffic.”

Meanwhile, the overall progress of the completed works on those 11 km where activities are proceeding smoothly amounts to nearly 59% in percentage terms. In just one week on this section, excavation of approximately 45,000 m³ and embankment works of about 1,800 m³ were carried out. Around 590 workers have been engaged, with more than 500 different machines and pieces of equipment in operation, as well as about 55 trucks. The stated figures also include all local subcontractors and companies from various fields, numbering around fifteen in total. For the needs of the workers of Bechtel and Enka, a temporary accommodation and operations camp with a capacity for more than 1,200 people has also been constructed,” stated the Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads, Koce Trajanovski.

The works are being performed near the settlements of Debreshe, Zdunje, Gostivar, Banjica, and Mitroj Krsti, where excavation of materials for embankments is also underway, as well as preparation of concrete elements for installation in the structures along the route. Work is also progressing at an undiminished pace on the other two sections being built by Bechtel and Enka, namely Tetovo–Gostivar and Prilep–Bitola.

The Director of the Public Enterprise for State Roads (PESR), Koce Trajanovski, held a meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of Macedonia, Her Excellency Jiang Xiaoyan.
Mutual satisfaction was expressed at the meeting with the cooperation between the two countries, as well as the expectation that the new Ambassador will contribute to further deepening of friendly relations and the enhancement of cooperation in the fields of economy, infrastructure, and investments.

In this context, it was emphasized that the Public Enterprise for State Roads has already established a successful cooperation with the People’s Republic of China through the Chinese company “Sinohydro”, which is the contractor for the Kichevo–Ohrid motorway, one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the country.
In his statement, Director Trajanovski emphasized that cooperation with Chinese institutions and companies is already delivering tangible results:

“The Public Enterprise for State Roads already has a successful cooperation with the Export-Import Bank of the People’s Republic of China, whose financial support in the form of a loan provided funds for the construction of Miladinovci–Shtip motorway, as well as for the implementation of the Kichevo–Ohrid motorway, both capital infrastructure projects which have been entrusted to the Chinese construction company ‘Sinohydro.’ This company also worked on the construction of Gradsko–Drenovo section, i.e. part of the Farish–Drenovo express road, as well as on the construction of Shtip–Kochani express road, i.e. Krupishte–Kochani section. All of this represents a solid foundation for further enhancement and expansion of cooperation between the two countries,” stated Trajanovski.
Director Trajanovski and Ambassador Xiaoyan concluded that cooperation in the fields of infrastructure and investments will continue.