Zero progress on the construction of the railway line to Bulgaria, part of the strategic Corridor 8, is shown by the financial reports of the contractors whose companies in 2022 were ad hoc created for the work on this project.
A subsidiary of the Austrian "Strabag" and a subsidiary of the Turkish "Gülermak", registered for the construction of the railway, collected revenues of a total of 35 million euros for this activity last year. The two companies are contractors who in 2022 were selected and signed the contract with the public company for railway infrastructure, with financing mainly through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development /EBRD/.
The purpose-built subsidiary of "Strabag" in its first year of full operation according to data of the "Central Register" has achieved revenues of 20 million euros in 2023. They are 442 per cent higher than a year earlier. The loss of minus 33,264 denars is minimal in the first full year of operation, and the number of registered workers is unknown.
Gulermak reported revenues of 14.8 million euros, which increased by 1998%. A loss of 640,000 euros was reported for 2023. 161 workers and a debt of 8 million euros are registered.
Of the work on the Kumanovo - Belyakovtse section, according to the published business plan of MZ Infrastructure, 70 per cent of the rehabilitation and construction will be completed by the end of 2023. To date, 52.5 million euros have been spent on the two stages of this section with the help of lending by the EBRD.
For the second section Belyakovce - Kriva Palanka from 2022, when the contracts with the two contractors were signed, 21 million euros were spent, part of which was a loan and part was a grant from the EBRD, according to what was written in the business plan of the public company.
For the last section from Kriva Palanka to the border with Bulgaria, which is the most expensive according to the business plan, 385 million euros have been secured from several creditors, but in 2023 there are no construction activities at this stage. At the end of 2023, the tender for the selection of the contractor for the third section was announced, and the process for the choice of the supervising engineer and technical assistance consultant is underway.
"The railway remains the main engine of the economy, therefore the focus for the future is investments in a modern railway network. We are investing in its modernization, and the construction of Corridor 8 is a real architectural challenge. The railway to Bulgaria will be ready by 2030, and the finances for 780 million euros are fully completed," said Zoran Trifunovski, director of MZ Infrastructure, in the latest statement in April. | BGNES
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