Construction work has begun on the second section of the Skopje–Blace motorway project, covering approximately 10 kilometres.
Heavy machinery belonging to the company awarded the contract has arrived on site, and work is now underway.
The project includes five tunnels on both sides of the motorway, eight bridges, 11 underpasses, four galleries and nine retaining walls, amounting to around 40 structures in total, according to construction terminology. The construction period is four years, with completion expected in the summer of 2030. More than 65% of the expropriation process has been completed, and authorities say it should not become an obstacle, as has happened with other projects. Construction began exactly two months after the foundation stone was laid.
The second Skopje–Blace section is being financed through a €167.6 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a €30.82 million grant from the EU’s Western Balkans framework, and a further €23.58 million from the budget of the public enterprise State Roads.
The design alone cost €3.1 million, financed through grants and carried out by Omega JSC and Hill International.
The motorway will have two driving lanes in each direction, each 3.5 metres wide, along with an emergency lane measuring 2.5 metres. The deputy director of the relevant institution said the two-month delay following the foundation-stone ceremony had a specific explanation, RTV21 reported.
The company responsible for building the 10.5-kilometre motorway section is Granit, which has signed a contract with the state and began construction on site today. The project will cost €222 million, including five years of maintenance after the road opens. Inauguration is expected in the summer of 2030.
The first two-kilometre section of the Skopje–Blace motorway, meanwhile, faced years of construction delays and ultimately remained a dead-end road.
