Macedonian Railways, German consortium Wiebe&Alpine sign agreement on renewal of tracks – part of Corridor X

Skopje, 10 April 2012 (MIA) - Macedonian Public Enterprise for Rail Infrastructure (PERI) and German Consortium 'Wiebe & Alpine' signed Tuesday in Skopje an agreement on revitalization of two tracks along the Corridor X railways line, namely Tabanovce-Karpos-Kumanovo and Miravci-Smokvica sections.

The project covers an upgrading of a total of 25 km-long tracks and will be realized under the sovereign EUR 6,9million-loan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EBRD is supporting further modernisation of the country's transport infrastructure with a total of EUR17.6 million-loan to finance track renewal along the Corridor X railways line in Macedonia. This will take the form of the replacement of wooden with concrete sleepers and the supply of new rails where, applicable, along approximately 50 km of track.

The loan also covers the renewal of the 30km Negotno-Nogaevci track, which wraps up the Corridor X renewal, PERI General Director Irfan Asani said at a press conference.

Corridor X is the main north-south route in Macedonia, providing a connection to Serbia and onwards to Europe in the north, and to Greece in the south. Modernisation of the rail network is one of the country's priorities, given its importance for the promotion of local industry and international trade. lk/15:53

4,000 Job openings announced at German car maker in Kavadarci

The German Dräxlmaier Group at its website announces vacant positions for highly skilled managers and professionals for the launch of new production facility in Kavadarci with over 4.000 employees.
The investment in Macedonia will amount €30 million. Minister of Foreign Investments Vele Samak has recently announced the amount of the investment and number of new jobs.
The company will open production facility for electrical installations and cables this year, offering jobs to 4,000 employees in the next 3 years. The products from the factory in Macedonia will be installed in Mercedes cars in Germany, Samak said.
The Dräxlmaier Group is an international company founded in 1958 in Germany and produces automotive specific cables, spare parts and electrical equipment for cars. The Dräxlmaier Group has a global presence on four continents, in over 20 countries, at over 50 locations.

Mak Government Keeps Name of Major Investor Secret

A Car Factory will be built in the region between Veles and Kavadarci, which will employ 4,000 people.
This was announced today by PM Gruevski during his visit to the University for Mechanical Engineering in Skopje.
- They have yet to chose their location, however have already made a decision to invest and registered their company in Macedonia. According to their analysis, they will employ 4,000 people in the next two years. I don't believe we have a private or state firm that employs 4,000 people, said PM Gruevski.
According to the PM, the company will hire 300-400 people by the end of the year, while the rest will come in the next year.- Where exactly they will build is solely their decision. As of this time we can't make the name of this company public, except that they are a major German company in the Auto sector.

German Companies to invest in Macedonia

Several companies from Germany have announced their investments in Macedonia. The agreements are being finalized, but the Macedonian government team has not revealed the names of the German companies yet.
Allegedly, they operate in automobile industry. As soon as the agreements are completed, it will be known which companies responded positively to the government promotion of Macedonia as an attractive business destination.
Interest of German investors has been steadfast and Macedonia can expect more investments from Germany in the coming period, says Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski.
The coming period is very important for the country. Two corridors, Corridor 8 and Corridor 10 have to be completed, economy minister Vladimir Pesevski said.

German Auto Industry Interested in Investing in Macedonia

Successful story of Knauf Radika in Macedonia attracts other German investors. According to the Macedonian-German Economic Association, Knauf Radika is an excellent example. It is a large and successful company with a potential that needs to be used.
According to announcements, another two large German automobile industries are interested in investing in Macedonia, especially because of very favourable business climate.
Knauf Radika, whose products are made in accordance with global standards and demanded across the entire world, continues with its investments with a goal to raise productivity, Todor Delovski, head of Knauf for the Western Balkans, says.

Optimism of German companies in Macedonia

Several German companies operating in Macedonia are satisfied with their business situation, but they still point to certain factors in Macedonia that have to be changed urgently, show the results of an opinion poll conducted by the Federation of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry-Skopje branch in cooperation with Macedonian-German Economic Association. German investors still complain about lack of efficiency of public administration, transparency in tenders, legal certainty, poor approach to state aid and EU financial support as well as slow prevention of corruption and crime. Despite the problems, German companies are optimistic and 79 percent of them are satisfied with their situation in Macedonia.

Tourist offer for Germans

Representatives of six travel agencies from Germany stayed in Macedonia in the past four days so that they could see its beauties, cultural-historic wealth and the entire tourist offer of the country. The first contact with these travel agencies was realised in the biggest fair for group travels, which was held in Köln in August, and in which 4 travel agencies from Macedonia participated. The visit of German travel agencies is a part of the project of opening the Western European market for group travels for travel agencies in the Balkans. Website www.balkan-schaetze.com was formed in connection to the project and it presents the wealth of the Balkans.

German author pens book on Mother Theresa's youth

"Mother Teresa - Her Youth in Skopje" is the title of a new book by German linguist and journalist Wolf Oschlies, who has taken part in almost every seminar on Macedonian language, held annually in Ohrid. The book covers the youth of Gonxhe Bojaxhiu from her birth in Skopje in 1910 till 1928. Author Oschiles in his book writes that Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born with disability and was constantly ill throughout her childhood.
Despite that her wealthy family had provided her a happy childhood and youth. Oschiles intertwines the changes within the young woman and the old city.
He uses Mother Teresa as a "core" to paint a vivid picture of the historical Skopje. The book is written in a reporting style, much differently from many other books on Mother Teresa.
The writer explains events that had influenced her education, work and life. The book also includes 35 historical photos and cards.
Made up of 193 pages, the books is published by Wieser Verlag and costs Euro 12,95.