English
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that Macedonia is discussing additional projects within the strategic partnership agreement with the United Kingdom, besides the Corridor 10 fast railroad line, a number of public hospitals and the potential UK involvement in the Cebren/Galiste hydro project.
With a railway line where a cargo train will move at an average speed of 110 kilometers per hour, the number of trains that will transit will increase, and with the expanded capacity of the ports in Greece and the high-speed railway line, the number of trains that will transit daily will also increase. All of this can lead to a tenfold increase in revenue. This is not a calculation that we made because it came to us, we sat down with experts in the area of transportation. This is the economic justification of the project, emphasized Prime Minister Mickoski.
The Prime Minister added that although we are a landlocked country, Macedonia has geostrategic importance because it is at the crossroads of three European corridors, two directly (8 and 10) and one indirectly – the Corridor 11 that goes along Struma river to the Aegean Sea. “That gives us weight and we use all of that, and that is why we decided on this project and we are convinced that it is a project for future generations”.
Regarding the water reservoirs, Prime Minister Mickoski indicated that negotiations are underway to use part of the funds for the construction of the Cebren and Galiste hydroelectric power plants.
We are calculating the internal rate of return for how long it will take us to use these funds so that at the end of the day we have a profit. These are strategic projects for future generations, two water reservoirs, to be used not only for drinking, but also for irrigation for the Tikvesh region, which produces wonderful grapes and wine, and this is also an excellent opportunity for tourism, promotion of Macedonian cuisine and wine. You have to think strategically if you want to make big steps. We thought strategically and we have a 21.1% growth in tourism in these 4 months compared to those 4 months last year, said Prime Minister Mickoski.
