photo: North Macedonia’s Transport Ministry / Public Domain/North Macedonian Deputy Minister of Transport Kaltrina Zekoli Shaqiri and Bulgarian Deputy Minister Tsveta Timeva
Bulgaria and North Macedonia have started joint management of the Corridor VIII border tunnel, while Skopje has reset financing for the railway leading to it. The same week, documents showed that a €60.77 million EU grant had already been lost after the previous works tender failed.
On 30 July, the two governments held the first meeting of the Joint Committee for the cross-border tunnel. Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport said it adopted working rules and a preliminary timetable. The schedule was attached to a joint letter sent to the European Commission, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. North Macedonia’s Transport Ministry said the next meeting would take place in Skopje.
Plans for this railway date back to the nineteenth century, according to the Western Balkans Investment Framework. Work on different sections continued periodocally before stopping again in 2004 because of insufficient funding.
Phase III and the Border Tunnel Are Separate Contracts
The final Macedonian approach, known as Phase III, is about 23.4 km long. It runs from Kriva Palanka to the western portal of the border tunnel. The EIB’s procurement notice covers a single-track electrified railway, signalling, telecommunications, and electrification of the full 88 km eastern section.
The tunnel is a separate project. The bilateral agreement, signed in November 2025 and in force since 4 March 2026, gives it a planned length of 2,383 metres. Bulgaria will own 1,193.70 metres and North Macedonia 1,189.30 metres. A later protocol must name which country will lead construction, procurement and supervision. Financing Phase III does not finance the tunnel automatically. The approach line could still end at the mountain unless both contracts move on a coordinated timetable.
North Macedonia Resets Corridor VIII Financing
On 6 August, North Macedonia signed amendments to the EIB and EBRD financing agreements, the WBIF grant agreement and the project agreement. The Finance Ministry said the revised structure would allow Phase III to proceed.
The original 2023 package was worth around €560 million. The EIB and EBRD each supplied a €175 million loan. The EU added approximately €149 million through WBIF and €60.77 million through the IPA programme.
RAILTARGET compared the remaining funds with the latest cost estimate. The two loans and the WBIF grant total roughly €499 million. Sloboden Pechat reported, citing the explanatory notes to the amended laws, that construction is now estimated at €482 million, with another €13 million needed for supervision. The tunnel is not included.
On paper, the surviving finance almost matches that €495 million estimate. This may explain how the government can describe the package as complete without replacing the IPA grant. It also leaves room for higher bids or construction overruns.
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The €60.77 Million Grant Disappeared With the Tender
The IPA money is no longer available because a construction contract was not signed before the deadline, Sloboden Pechat reported from the draft-law documents. The earlier tender was cancelled, and responsibility for the new procedure is being moved away from the Finance Ministry’s central contracting department.
The European Commission’s July 2025 roadmap expected North Macedonia to relaunch the Phase III works tender by the end of that year. It also expected procurement for the tunnel to begin in early 2026. Meanwhile, the EIB pages show a forecast notice dated 28 November 2025 for the main construction contract. A separate tender for supervision was published on 16 April 2026. The supervision assignment is planned to run for 84 months.
As Macedonian broadcaster Telma noted on 6 August, the project still has to move beyond revised agreements and deadlines.
Bulgaria Has a Contract for Its 2.4 km Approach
On the Bulgarian side, the project covers 2.4 km from Gyueshevo to the border and the reconstruction of Gyueshevo station. Bulgarian infrastructure manager NRIC selected the Gyueshevo 2025 consortium, while contractor Trace Group says the BGN 97.97 million (approx. EUR 50 million) contract was signed on 20 February 2026.
The final 420 metres form a separate part of the Bulgarian works. Construction there will begin only after the tunnel is completed, so heavy tunnel machinery can use the site. The deadline for the rest of the section is the end of 2028.
Can Corridor VIII Still Be Completed by 2030?
WBIF lists 2030 as the target for completing the railway from Skopje to Bulgaria. Phase I, from Kumanovo to Beljakovce, opened in January 2025. Phase II to Kriva Palanka remains under construction. Phase III still needs a works contractor, while the tunnel has only recently gained a joint committee and preliminary timetable.
The agreement also leaves work beyond concrete and rails. Bulgaria and North Macedonia still need arrangements for customs, border checks, train operations, maintenance and emergency procedures.