On May 25, Emil Dimitriev, the new prime minister of Macedonia, inspected and investigated the construction site of the MS Expressway project of POWERCHINA. Various media outlets, including the National Radio and Television Station of Macedonia, covered his visit. The new prime minister was accompanied by Misajlovski, minister of transport and communication, as well as the property owner, project supervisor and Chinese project leader.
Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev carefully examined the construction work at the asphalt pavement site of the independent operation sector and expressed his satisfaction with the present progress. Afterwards, he consulted and communicated with the property owner and supervisor regarding further details of the asphalt pavement work.
During an interview with multiple media members, the prime minister stated: "I arrived at the construction site of the MS Expressway today to inspect the 47 km expressway project, the largest project in eastern Macedonia undertaken by POWERCHINA, and to check its progress in person. As far as I can see and based on what I've heard at the site of the MS Expressway, the project has progressed in an orderly fashion and is developing according to plan. Ninety-five percent of the major line of the MS Expressway has taken shape, and 9.5 km of asphalt pavement has been completed. More asphalt pavement is being completed today. Meanwhile, the affiliated structures, bridges, underground channels, flyovers and overpasses are also currently under construction. The project has maintained smooth progress. At present, approximately 39 percent of the project has been completed. If the current pace is maintained, the MS Expressway will be completed in a year. This means a lot to us. For our country, it is of great historical significance to our nation's economic development. Both the construction of the expressway and road infrastructure represents an improvement of our road traffic environment and the pace of our economic development. This will encourage the development of the construction industry and relevant industries in Macedonia."
Major television stations in Macedonia recorded Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev's every step that day. "Ninety-Five Percent of the Expressway Mainline Has Taken Shape" became the headline of the evening news at 5:00pm and 7:30pm on the National Radio and Television Station of Macedonia.
Reporters learned that the MS Expressway project had attracted great attention from the local government, media and architectural universities since its launch. It further won praise and acclaim for the excellent safety and quality control of the project, as well as its steady progress. Two prime ministers visited the construction site to express their gratitude and appreciation to the workers of POWERCHINA. On October 31, 2015, former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski shared an aerial image of the progress of the project on his personal Facebook page, which in turn received 1,273 “likes”, 5,700 comments, and 574 “shares” within two hours.
The MS Expressway project is among the first batch of projects implemented by the "10 Billion US Dollar Special Loans for China-Middle and Eastern Europe Country Cooperation". The mainline from Miladinovci to Stip is 45.84 km, of which 26.54 km will be constructed and 19.30 km will be expanded. The construction of the expressway will greatly improve the traffic conditions and shorten the travel duration from Stip, the capital of Macedonia, to Ohrid, a tourist resort boasting the world culture heritage of Greece and Macedonia.
