By 2028, the cross-border railway tunnel between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia should be ready, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications in resignation Grozdan Karadjov told journalists. He participated in the meeting of the parliamentary committee on foreign policy, at which the ratification of the Agreement between the governments of the two countries for the preparation, construction and operation of a cross-border railway tunnel, signed on November 6, 2025 in the village of Gyueshevo, was unanimously supported. “For“ 14 MPs voted, BTA indicated.
This is a project that is very closely monitored by the European Commission, and any country that unreasonably obstructs this project from now on will be considered an unreliable partner. This is a test for us, even though we are an EU member, but an even bigger test for the Republic of North Macedonia, which is a candidate for EU membership, commented Karadzhov. This is a joint project, not a little digging by both sides, but an entire joint project managed by a joint committee. We have one tender, one contractor, one tunnel, explained the resigned Deputy Prime Minister.
The tunnel will forever be managed by such a joint committee. Both sides will always have to pay some amount to maintain it, but it will be maintained jointly.
The Deputy Prime Minister expects the accompanying infrastructure to the border – the last 2.4 km – to be ready, with a sound organization, by the end of next year. That is, in 2027 we should have these 2.4 km, and when the tunnel is ready, we should just attach the last 400 m. That is our plan, Grozdan Karadzhov also said.
The agreement was signed by Grozdan Karadzhov and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport of the Republic of North Macedonia, Aleksandar Nikoloski, at the railway station in the village of Gyueshevo.