Design and construction of border checkpoint “Strumyani - Berovo” starts

The design and construction of the new border checkpoint, which will connect Bulgaria and North Macedonia between the municipalities of Strumyani and Berovo, has started. This became clear after a meeting of the Joint Expert Commission between the two countries, which took place in Skopje. The start of the work on the construction of the new border checkpoint point was given with the signing of a protocol by the two co-chairs of the commission - Milen Obretenov - Director of the Directorate for Territorial Cooperation Management at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, on the Bulgarian side, and Yakub Redzepi - Director of the Directorate for International Law and Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the side of the Republic of North Macedonia.

Over 10 million euro will be invested in the construction of the crossing point, which is a strategic project under the “More Connected Border Region” priority of the INTERREG VI-A IPA Bulgaria - North Macedonia 2021 - 2027 Programme.

At the committee meeting, the experts specified the main technical parameters for the implementation of the future border checkpoint. The location of the route, the intersection with the border and the location of the new border checkpoint point on the Bulgarian side were determined. It will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It will be open to passenger vehicles with a maximum technically permissible mass of 3.5 tonnes or less.

The design and construction of the checkpoint on the Bulgarian side has been entrusted by a decision of the Council of Ministers to the Blagoevgrad Regional Administration, which will also be the lead partner in the strategic project. The beneficiary on the side of the Republic of North Macedonia is the Customs Agency.

Bulgaria will host the next working meeting of the Joint Expert Committee scheduled for the end of October 2022. It will present the project concepts for the construction of the border checkpoint “Strumyani - Berovo” on Bulgarian territory and the reconstruction of the checkpoint by North Macedonia, the timeframe for the implementation of the strategic project, as well as specific recommendations for future sustainable energy planning and construction of the new border checkpoint.