SKOPJE (Macedonia), February 12 (SeeNews) – European Union candidates Macedonia and Albania see as their priority the construction of the Kicevo-Lin railway section, part of Corridor 8 running east-west through Southeast Europe, Macedonian Railway Infrastructure company said.
The railway section, which is expected to be fully operational by 2023, aims to improve regional connectivity, the company said in a press release on Friday, following a meeting between its director, Irfan Asani, and his Albanian counterpart Ani Dyrmishi in Skopje.
The railway connection will provide economic benefits for the two neighboring countries with Albania gaining a railway connection to Bulgaria and the Black Sea, while landlocked Macedonia will be able to connect to the largest Albanian Adriatic port of Durres.
The construction of parts of the Corridor 8 is being implemented under a memorandum of cooperation signed by Macedonian and Albanian railway companies, aiming to coordinate efforts in presenting joint projects to international financial institutions in the search for financing.
Macedonia's government has already prepared a project for the country's part of the Kicevo-Lin section whereas Albania has completed a feasibility study for the stretch on its territory, the statement added.
The Macedonian part of the project has a estimated cost of around 500 million euro ($612 million), according to information posted on the Macedonian Railways webiste.
The railway section is scheduled to pass through Kicevo and Struga in western Macedonia to the village of Lin in southeastern Abania.
Macedonia's transport ministry said last week it will provide 71.5 million euro for financing the construction of the Kriva Palanka-Deve Bair section of the railway line linking the country's capital Skopje to the Bulgarian border, also part of Corridor 8.
Corridor 8 is one of the pan-European land transport routes running from Durres in Albania, across Macedonia to the city of Varna, on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
($ = 0.8167 euro)