It was back in July 2022 when a ceremony for the signature of the contracts for the construction of the railway Corridor VIII (sections Kumanovo – Beljakovce and Beljakovce – Kriva Palanka) was held at the premises of the Government of Republic of North Macedonia. An additional section on Corridor X was subsequently added to the contract (Section Nogaevci – Negotino). Works kicked off at the end of October 2022.

Now, less than two years later, this is the current progress in the three works contracts:

Lot 1 – Section from Kumanovo to Beljakovce on Rail Corridor VIII (30.8 km, FIDIC Yellow Book 1999): Works are in the final phases and the Taking Over Certificate is foreseen to be issued in December 2024, with all works completed in time and within the contract budget.

Lot 2 – Section from Beljakovce to Kriva Palnaka on Rail Corridor VIII (34 km, FIDIC Red Book 1999): Works are progressing despite several problems were found in the design. Expected finalisation in 2026.

Lot 3 – Section Nogaevci – Negotino on Rail Corridor X (30.99 km, FIDIC Red Book 1999): Works were completed and the Taking Over Certificate was issued in July 2023.

When finalised, the Pan-European Corridor VIII will link the Bulgarian Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas with the Italian Adriatic port of Bari. The central part of this 315 km-long corridor will run through North Macedonia. However, this segment lacks important links in its eastern part (from Kumanovo to the border with Bulgaria) and in its western part (from Kicevo to the border with Albania).

The Pan-European Rail Corridor VIII will increase the annual cargo volume by 20% until 2040 and will provide access to up-to-date means of transport for more than 350,000 people. Travel time will be reduced, and air and noise pollution will be lowered. For this reason, it has received full support from the European Union, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and NATO. The project has received generous grants and favourable loans to facilitate its realisation.

IRD Engineering is active in North Macedonia since 2003. Nowadays, the company operates through a branch office registered in Skopje, having all the necessary licences to operate in the domestic civil engineering sector, and counting on a permanent team of Engineers, Project Managers and other specialists. It has participated in many strategic projects in the country, including the Supervision of the Motorway Section Demir  Kapija – Smokvica on the Corridor X, connectng North Macedonia with Greece.

Ranked 131st at ENR’s (Engineering News-Record) Top 225 International Design Firms, IRD Engineering is currently working in very important infrastructure projects in more than 30 countries all over the world, such as Italy, Romania, Mongolia, Armenia, Sao Tome and Principe, Laos, Uzbekistan, India, Bangladesh, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Montenegro, Nepal, Ukraine, Albania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Georgia, or Bosnia and Herzegovina, to name a few.

If at any time you have any questions or want to give us your feedback, please e-mail us at info@irdeng.com