At present, there are no railway connections between the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria. Although there have been discussions, the construction of a railway to connect the two countries has began to take shape last year with the announcement made by FYR Macedonia’s Minister of Transport Mile Janakievski. According to him, “bids for the construction of a railway between Kumanovo and Beljakovce, a railway that would officially launch the cross-border project, will be opened at the middle of September”.
Moreover, a railway between the two capital cities, Sofia and Skopje, would increase trade in the region.
Bulgaria is committed to building its part of the railway between its capital Sofia and Macedonia’s Skopje, De-
puty Transport Minister Petar Kirov declared in May 2014. On a meeting with his Ma-cedonian counterpart Elena Kuzmanovska and a EC enlargement representative, Kirov also said that construction of the Bulgarian railway segment would begin in parallel with that of Macedonia, which is to be completed between 2022 and 2023. A modernization will also be carried out on the current infrastructure in the region of the new railway between the countries. The project will be conducted with EU funding, which could also be used by FYR Macedonia.
Last year, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed to grant to the Former Yugoslav Republic, more precisely to the Macedonian Railway Infrastructure Company, a loan worth EUR 46.4 Million aimed to finance the reconstruction of Kumanovo – Beljakovce railway, which is also the first phase of the comprehensive project which includes the development of a direct railway connection Skopje – Sofia.
The loan includes EUR 2.5 Million, a sum that FYR Macedonia needs to launch the second phase of the project, the extension of the above-mentioned railway to the east from Beljakovce to Kriva Palanka. The documents necessary for the initiation of the tender will be ready by the end of the year, Macedonian authorities say, while total ne-
cessary funds could amount to EUR 145 Million. The third, the last and the most expensive phase includes the actual construction of the Bulgarian border link to be connected to Gyueshevo – Radomir railway. Funds for this phase have been estimated at EUR 332 Million.
The entire section designed between the two neighbouring countries will be included in the pan-European Corridor VIII and will provide Macedonia with a shorter railway connection to the Bulgarian ports of Varna and Burgas, from the Black Sea. If the railway is completed, the journey between the two capitals could last between three and four hours.
The construction of the first section could be completed by 2017 and the other two sections by 2022.
FYR Macedonia sees the Black Sea region as a crucial geographical area primarily due to its significance in trade and energy routes. However, in the Macedonian case, the Black Sea region is seen in a narrow perspective regarding security issues, but in wider perspectives regarding economic and trade relations. Most freight and passenger traffic between the Macedonia and Bulgaria is transported by road. From a commercial point of view, Bulgaria is one of the fifth trading partners for Macedonia, and its business cooperation with these countries has increased in importance.
Within the European and trans-continental framework Corridor VIII will play an important role for the transport communications among Southern Europe, Northern Africa, the Caspian Basin, Central Asia, Russia and Ukraine. Its strategic perspective lies in the linkage of significant sea-ports such as Varna, Bourgas, Poti, Batoumi, Novorossijsk, Ilichevsk and Odessa on the Black Sea, Dourres and Vlore on the Adriatic Sea, a linkage that facilitates the opportunities of servicing the markets of Central Asia, Russia and Ukraine, too.
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