The local administration of Skopje, the capital of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, plans to build a tram network. For the almost one million inhabitants (according to an official census of 2011) the initiative is welcome as until now their city could not benefit from an urban railway transport system.
In addition, the local administration of Skopje has prepared the funds necessary for the execution of this project and the related feasibility study has already been drafted since the beginning of last year. The number of inhabitants in Skopje increases constantly mainly by the population migration from rural areas to urban area; therefore, the public transport system faces the impossibility to satisfy the growing demand for travel and mobility. Measures for the improvement of road traffic and for the exploitation of its possibilities have been practically exhausted. Therefore, the authorities have organised a public debate to find out which is the optimal solution to improve the public transport system. Obviously, the opinions were different, and among the best solutions was the construction of a tram system, a high-speed railway line, the improvement of the infrastructure for the adaptation of an environmentally friendly alternative transport, as well as the improvement of the road infrastructure. Following the analyses, the local administration decided that the optimal solution is the development of a tram network. Se-veral pro and cons analyses have also been performed for each expressed option, but the favoured one was the construction of a tram infrastructure.
In December 2012, the local administration initiated a tender procedure for selec-ting the best bid for the construction of a tram network in Skopje. The contract assignment will be made as public-private partnership. The authorities justified the idea of assigning a public-private partnership contract by the city’s acute need for the introduction of new concept for public transport organization and improvement. Decision makers strongly support the fact that the presence of trams in the city will improve the quality, the speed, the efficiency, the safety and the sustainability of the existing urban transport system. In addition, by introducing this measure, the authorities in Skopje estimate that the number of inhabitants choosing the tram to the detriment of cars will be significantly higher once the line is commissioned. The contract will be executed following the design – financing – building – operation – transfer (DFBOT) model. According to the requirements published by the administration of Skopje, the contract involves the design of the tram infrastructure, the building of the tram network having a length of 12.1 km (24.2 km on both running directions), the building of tram stations, of depots and of other necessary related infrastructures. The contract also stipulates the purchase of 22 trams, as well as the operation and execution of the line maintenance during the entire term of the public-private partnership. It will be carried out in the form of a 35-year concession.
The parties interested in the construction of this project could submit their bids until the beginning of April 2013. Local authorities announced on April 25 that only one company, a Norwegian consortium managed by P.J Skurdal, was interested in the construction of the much-awaited tram in Skopje and in the partnership with the authorities. The cost of this project was estimated at EUR 240 Million.
The low interest expressed for this project is rather a reason for disappointment, since the mayor of the city, Koce Trajanovski, said last year that certain companies in the specialised industry from France, Poland, Croatia, Germany and Czech Republic could submit their bids.
Macedonia with Lithuania, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova and Slovenia are among the states of the former communist bloc which did not have a tram network, and therefore the measure is appreciable even if the tram network in Skopje will not be built by reputable names in the industry.
Share on:
