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EBRD to give €167.6 million mortgage for 10 km of motorway from Skopje to Blace Interchange - 
EU to nutritional supplement the investment with €29.6 million via the Western Balkans Investment Framework - 
New street to boost trade and connectivity in the area





The European Lender for Reconstruction and Advancement (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) are financing a new motorway part in North Macedonia, from the capital Skopje to Blace Interchange, close to the border with Kosovo. The new highway will provide more quickly and simpler connections for trade and citizens.


A €167.6 million mortgage from the EBRD to construct the motorway will be complemented by an EU grant of €20.8 million, as properly as €8.8 million in funding for specialized cooperation to get ready, apply and supervise the will work. The latter are getting presented by means of the Western Balkans Financial commitment Framework (WBIF).


The strategic highway part will boost hyperlinks in the area and on to the European Union. It is part of a transport artery from Skopje to Kosovo’s money, Pristina, which has noticed improved website traffic volumes in latest years, and a bigger European street network connecting Sweden to Greece by way of the Western Balkans.


The new dual two-lane motorway will run parallel to the current A4 countrywide street, a one carriageway made more than 50 decades back. This will lead to significant site visitors and highway protection improvements. It is also anticipated to have a optimistic impact on work by way of improved connectivity and financial integration inside the region.


The Financial institution will mobilise complex cooperation funding to assist the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in producing a countrywide e-mobility strategy and motion prepare entirely focused to advertising and marketing the rollout of an electric auto fleet and infrastructure in the country. The project will also demonstrate an impressive development contract construction, which will integrate local weather resilience steps.


Susan Goeransson, EBRD Director, Infrastructure Europe, reported: “This venture is one case in point of the Bank’s work to boost the two the transport and municipal infrastructure in North Macedonia. It will have a tangible influence on people’s day-to-day life, as effectively as trade things to do across the area and with the EU. We are content to consider the next step in this journey to assist the General public Organization for Point out Roadways by funding this very important street segment collectively with our essential lover, the European Union.”




Ambassador David Geer, Head of the EU Delegation to North Macedonia, mentioned: “Through the WBIF and with the assistance of EBRD, we are putting the Connectivity agenda on track. A globally connected Europe is effective for the economic system, but also for the economies and for the expansion of the accession nations. Supporting the transport connectivity in the location is a main prospect for additional development of trade relations and for more powerful regional economic progress.“


The EBRD is a major institutional investor in North Macedonia. To date, it has invested almost €2.3 billion in 161 initiatives in the state. Supporting transport sector infrastructure improvement is a precedence for the Financial institution, as it addresses a single of the country’s most pressing issues.