Macedonia decided to renew work on the rail line that will lead to Bulgaria, part of the pan-European transport corridor VIII.

Italy has always been the country most eager to develop the transport corridor, Novinar newspaper reported. The corridor will handle most of the traffic from Asia to Europe.

Through Bulgaria’s ports in Bourgas and Varna and through Trakia Highway, shipments from Asian countries will be able to travel to Italy.

The rail line that will be part of the European transport corridor is to be 339km long and passes through Macedonia. A 152km section has already been set up.

Poor management and the lack of maintenance caused damage to some of the already constructed infrastructure.

Bulgaria is ready to co-operate on the project, which will connect Sofia to Skopje. Macedonia delayed execution until now because of financial reasons, Novinar reported.

As part of the project Bulgaria will have to construct only 1.5 to two km close to the border and renovate the existing rail line.

After Bulgaria’s EU entry, the setting up of the railway became necessity for Macedonians, Novinar said.