Blocked Corridors: North Macedonia’s Shifting Transport Priorities Leave Neighbours Perple
Source: Balkan Insight
It’s an old debate for North Macedonia: invest in completion of the east-west Corridor 8, which would open up new trade and business routes – or prioritize upgrading the existing north-south Corridor 10, which may benefit the economy immediately but also leave it dependent on just one transport route.
It’s also the dilemma facing the new government in Skopje, elected earlier this year. Initially, it hinted that it preferred the second option, before reverting to the mantra that both corridors are equally important.
The east-west pan-European Corridor 8 – work on which in North Macedonia has long been delayed – should ultimately connect the Italian port of Bari, the Albanian port of Durres and North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, before heading east through Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, to Varna and Burgas on the Black Sea.
The more developed north-south Corridor 10, on the other hand, starts in Thessaloniki in Greece and passes through North Macedonia before heading north through Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to Austria.
The original article: belongs to Balkan Insight .
