€243 million for motorways this year, funded by the budget and domestic banks

Construction of motorways along Corridors 8 and 10 will receive a total of €243 million in funding this year. Of that amount, €103 million will be allocated from the state budget, while €140 million will be secured through the five largest domestic commercial banks. Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Aleksandar Nikolloski announced this in a television interview.

He said major infrastructure projects are the responsibility of the state as a whole, not just the Public Enterprise for State Roads (PESR). Since motorways represent capital investments of strategic importance, Nikolloski said it was reasonable for their funding to come partly from the budget and partly from loans.

“This year, we will spend a total of €243 million on motorway construction,” Nikolloski said.

The minister acknowledged that full funding for the project had not been secured when work began on the Tetovo–Gostivar, Gostivar–Bukojčani, Prilep–Bitola and Trebeništa–Kjafasan sections. He said funding sources should have been identified before construction began, but the current government had been forced to address the issue after the project had already entered the construction phase.

“Now, in practice, we work every year to secure funding for this project. This is, of course, much worse than if the previous government had done it before construction began,” he said.

Nikolloski explained that the transfer of funds for the “Bechtel and Enka” project from the budget to PESR was linked to budgetary limits on capital investment. Without this step, he said, the consortium would be working with less than €140 million.

“The budget cannot be expanded at will. There are clear rules governing the level of the budget deficit, capital investment and how it is planned,” the minister said.

Regarding PESR’s loans, he said the enterprise was currently servicing its obligations itself. How repayments would be made in 10–15 years could only be projected, he said. Nikolloski and director Koce Trajanovski are considering several scenarios under which some of the loans could be covered by the budget.

“It is expected that some of the loans will also be repaid from the budget, and there is nothing controversial about that,” he said.

The public report for the first quarter of 2026 shows that PESR’s loan liabilities stand at approximately €1 billion. At the same time, the enterprise has also recorded substantial liabilities to suppliers. Profit for the period was 264.8 million denars, or around €4.31 million, down 86.3 percent from the first quarter of last year.

However, Nikolloski said the enterprise should not be judged by the same criteria as a private company, since it carries out infrastructure projects in the interests of the state.

“It is a public enterprise, not a private one, and it is not a joint-stock company. Its investments do not serve only a commercial purpose; they also have strategic importance for the state. It is therefore normal for the budget to support PESR,” the deputy prime minister said.

He described borrowing from domestic banks as advantageous, saying it was better for the money to remain in the country than to take out loans from foreign financial institutions.

A three-year grace period, a nine-year repayment period and a fixed interest rate of 3.95 percent have been agreed for two loans worth a combined €140 million, one for the “Bechtel and Enka” project and the other for the Ohrid–Kičevo motorway.

The interview also raised the issue of PESR’s financial report for the second quarter of 2026. The legal deadline for publishing the document had expired on July 30, but the report was not publicly available. Nikolloski said he would consult director Koce Trajanovski to establish whether the delay had resulted from a technical error.

During the interview, the minister also discussed the broader impact of Corridors 8 and 10, saying their completion would strengthen Macedonia’s political and economic position in the region. The government’s goal, he said, is to complete both corridors in full.

Nikolloski stressed that six motorways and two railway lines were under construction in the country as part of the European corridors. He described Corridor 8 as particularly important for the economy, while Corridor 10 was also important for NATO security.

Making these corridors fully operational would, he said, improve regional connections and increase Macedonia’s role in economic and security developments in Europe. He added that investment in roads and railways was intended to stimulate economic development and facilitate connections with neighbouring countries.

The deputy prime minister recalled that infrastructure projects had been among the top priorities since the government was formed in 2024. Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski had identified them as an important part of state policy.

According to Nikolloski, completing the corridors will be important for the state’s long-term stability and resilience, particularly in the face of political challenges in the region.