A public tender is about to be announced for the selection of a contractor for a complex environmental procedure for the project for the construction of the Border Cross Check Point "Strumiani - Berovo" and for the completion of the road to it. For this purpose, an agreement was signed in May between the Blagoevgrad Regional Administration, which is the beneficiary of the project for the construction of the Border Cross Check Point, and the Road Infrastructure Agency, which will be the contractor for the construction of the road.
This became clear at a working meeting in the Regional Administration Blagoevgrad, which was held on 14 August 2024. At it, the progress in the implementation of the strategic project for the construction of the new border checkpoint between Bulgaria and North Macedonia was discussed. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Eng. Violeta Koritarova, the Chief of the political cabinet Kiril Gaberov, the Chairman of the Board of Road Infrastructure Agency Eng. Yordan Valchev, the Regional Governor of Blagoevgrad Georgi Dinev, the Mayor of Berovo (Republic of North Macedonia) Zvonko Pekevski, Deputy mayor of Strumyani Petya Taseva and experts from the "TCM" Directorate and the Joint Secretariat of the INTERREG VI-A IPA Bulgaria - North Macedonia Programme.
"When I took over as caretaker minister four months ago, one of my main priorities was to unfreeze infrastructure projects, because we know they grow the economy. This is a way to have connectivity between the regions, and in this case also between the countries", pointed out Minister Koritarova. It emphasizes the strategic importance of the border crossing and the road, as part of the international transport corridor number 8, which connects the Adriatic and Black seas. "This is an important project for the economy of the countries," the minister also said.
The regional governor, Georgi Dinev, also stated that the construction of the border checkpoint will contribute to the economic development of the region.
The mayor of Berovo expressed his satisfaction with the joint work of all involved institutions.
The project for the construction of the Border Cross Check Point (BCCP) "Strumyani-Berovo" between Bulgaria and North Macedonia is worth more than 11 million euros, secured under the INTERREG VI-A IPA Bulgaria - North Macedonia 2021-2027 Programme managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. Beneficiaries under it are the Regional Administration Blagoevgrad and the Customs Administration of the Republic of North Macedonia. According to the work schedules, a construction permit for the station is expected to be issued in 2027. In the same year, the completion of the access road is also expected to start.
After putting the new border crossing into operation, the number of people crossing the border between Bulgaria and North Macedonia is expected to increase from 657,000 to 722,700 people per year.
