The Corridor VIII is one of the largest pan-European links, split between rail and motorway, crossing Albania, North Macedonia and Bulgaria, connecting the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea.
The largest part of this corridor goes through North Macedonia. Along with Corridor 10, these regional infrastructures are also connected to ports in Albania, Greece and Bulgaria.
In July 2024, during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington DC (USA), Skopje, Tirana, Sofia and Rome signed a cooperation agreement on military mobility.
In practice, the agreement allows NATO troops to move quickly through this corridor in the event of a conflict or to relocate troops depending on the evolution of the geopolitical panorama.
During the worsening tensions between the Atlantic alliance and Russia, due to the war in Ukraine, the corridor gained increased geostrategic power: the region used this sea to increase its influence to increase pressure on Moscow in the Black Sea; And to further ‘shut down’ the possibility of the Kremlin invading other territories, it is rapidly mobilizing troops across the Balkans.
But Corridor VIII has been shelved and its rehabilitation is progressing but at a slower pace than expected.
In July of this year, shortly after the signing of the agreement with Italy, Albania and Bulgaria, the government of North Macedonia announced its intention to reallocate the funds allocated to this corridor and use it for Corridor 10 to improve the connection with Belgrade (Serbia).
On August 2, the European Commission warned that the funds could not be used for other infrastructure and this decision created tensions in the region.
A strong voice came from the Bulgarian government, which agreed with the reasoning of the European Commission and demanded compliance with what was established at the NATO summit and established in the 1993 bilateral agreement.
The North Macedonian executive took advantage of the same bilateral agreement signed in the 1990s and accused Sofia of non-compliance.
“It is noteworthy that Bulgaria is available to cooperate […] It fulfills its obligations under the 1993 bilateral agreement,” North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timso Mukunski said in a written statement dated July 30.
Concerns about Corridor 08 also arise at a time when North Macedonia’s government changed following legislative elections on May 8 and is now led by one of the fewest European countries, despite the deal being signed at a NATO summit. With some positions favorable to the Union and Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Corridor VIII has received funding from several institutions, such as the European Union Mechanism for Investment in the Western Balkans, which loaned 14 million euros to rehabilitate the 23-kilometer section connecting Kriva Palanga to Stracin.
The rehabilitation of this road will shorten the distance between Skopje and Sofia and the total investment for this work is 105 million euros.
But there are other investments in this corridor, namely Chinese.
In 2014, Chinese construction company Sinohydro won the tender to realign a 57-kilometer section, shortening the distance between Kisevo and Ohrid on the border with Albania.
But more than ten years after the construction company took up the project, it is still incomplete. The deal was signed in 2014 with former prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who stepped down from executive positions two years later following a corruption scandal.
Sinohydro is on the World Bank’s ‘blacklist’, and the North Macedonia government has admitted to breaking the deal in early 2024 due to repeated delays, but parliament extended the license until December 31, 2026, so the company can complete work.
However, the Chinese company won two more infrastructure tenders in the country.
During a visit organized by the European Commission, Gos Trajanovski, director of the state agency for building roads in North Macedonia, declined to comment on any controversy and said the project was progressing as expected when asked about the matter. Delaying or expressing value added to work due to delays.
+++ Lusa traveled at the invitation of the European Commission +++
Also read: Albania increasingly closer to EU, North Macedonia ‘locked in’ access
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