Following the meeting of the Macedonian and Kosovan governments, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski said that there are major issues with the planned highway between Skopje and the border with Kosovo.

The first problem is that the planned highway on the Macedonian side does not link up with the existing highway on the Kosovan side. The ending of our highway is projected to be in a ravine 50 meters deep. The route was changed three times, which hiked the price from 240 to 290, possibly 300 million EUR, far above the initial projections. Also, the tunnels are not projected in line with European standards and can’t be built in the way they are projected, Nikoloski said.

He added that, on top of these technical issues, are the allegations of criminal activities with the purchase of the land along the route. According to Nikoloski, years ago the Bechtel consortium offered to build the highway for 100 million EUR, while the company was working on the Kosovo stretch through the Kacanik gorge, but the previous Government in Macedonia refused the offer, leading to the far worse offers we have now.