Vice PM and Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski accompanied by Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski put into function on Thursday a 7,6-kilometer road connecting Tabanovce border crossing and the city of Kumanovo.
The section, which is part of Corridor 10, was under construction in the past four years. The Euro 15,5-million project was implemented by the State Road Agency in cooperation with the World Bank.
"This highway is the most crucial infrastructural artery in Macedonia - a highway that connects us on the north with Europe and on the south with the Thessaloniki Port, which is of vital importance for the economy in Macedonia. It is not only an asphalt, it's an investment that will improve the geostrategic position of Macedonia and its attractiveness for investments," Stavreski said in his address at a ceremony where the Tabanovce-Kumanovo highway was put into use.
Roads serve to connect and enable development, the Vice PM stressed, while Macedonia has finally found its true road paving the way towards heightened economic development, better conditions and living standard for its citizens.
The government, Stavreski vowed, will make efforts to start construction activities for the final section of Corridor 10, Demir Kapija-Smokvica.
Minister Janakieski said that improving the regional and local road network was still one of the main priorities.
With the completion of Tabanovce-Kumanovo highway, Macedonia should finish its part of Corridor 10 by constructing Demir Kapija-Smokvica section with a length of 28,2 kilometers. The Government for its construction has provided Euro 270 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank and the EU. Its construction is due to start in 2012 and is expected to be completed in five to six years.
Foreign direct investments of Euro 1,8 billion have entered Macedoni