NATO TO REPAIR MACEDONIAN BRIDGES
National.
NATO will spend an additional €35 million in its ongoing programme to repair bridges in Macedonia damaged during the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia.
The bridges are part of the country’s most important highway linking Skopje with Greece to the south and Serbia and central Europe to the north. In the second phase of the project, the alliance will finance the reconstruction of bridges that are located near Macedonia’s southern border with Greece.
“Their reconstruction will be finished by the end of 2008,” Macedonia’s Transport Minister Mile Janakievski told media. During the last year, the project has renovated parts of the highway in central Macedonia.
After the 1999 NATO air campaign resulted in Serbia’s withdrawal from Kosovo, ground forces from the alliance used the highway to enter the breakaway Serbian province. During the campaign the bridges suffered substantial damage from the many tanks and other heavy vehicles that had to cross.
At the press conference, the commander of the NATO headquarters in Skopje, Stojan Genkov, announced additional investment in the country’s infrastructure set for beyond 2008.
[Balkaninsight]
Post a Comment