Indian Businessman submits plan to build world class Tourist resort in Ohrid

"Saharayan Makeeduniya" is a project which will be realised in Macedonia by the Indian company "Sahara India Pariwar". A proposal for the investment was submitted to Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski and Vice PM Zoran Stavreski on Nov. 20.

"It's our proud privilege that after a few months of brainstorming we have put the vision of our chairman Subrata Roy Sahara for a world class destination in the City of Ohrid in Macedonia together and are presenting it to the Macedonian Premier and the ministers of his government. The project is christened as 'Saharayan Makeeduniya' and is developed across 240 hectares around the Lake Ohrid, consisting of world class hotels, casinos, residential and recreational facilities and an international standard gold golf course," reads a written statement by Subrata Roy's son, Seemanto Roy - executive director and head of the company's international business department.

The project has been designed by Atkins - a multinational engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services company headquartered in the United Kingdom. It envisages the construction of a recreational facilities, an exclusive spa retreat, marina hotel, lake side entertainment hub, floating hotel and casino...

The project has undergone a complete environmental study.

Macedonia wineries to present their products in Slovenia

Macedonian wineries Tikves, Skovin, Bovin and Kamnik - members of the association "Wines from Macedonia" - will present their products on November 22-23 at the most prestigious Wine & Gastronomy festival in Ljubljana.

This year the event will bring together 130 producers from Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Croatia and Macedonia, the Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion says.

The presentation of Macedonian wineries is organized by the country's embassy in Slovenia and Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion.

"The aim of being present in such events is to bring the Macedonian wine on EU markets in line with the marketing strategy for exporting wine in the Union. The strategy, designed by the wineries, considers the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and Switzerland as top markets for the Macedonian wine," the Agency says.

Macedonian - Russian Business Forum

Macedonia’s Economic Chamber and the Macedonian-Russian Chamber of Commerce organise Monday a Macedonian-Russian business forum in an effort  bilateral business contacts to be established with Russian companies from several sectors including agriculture, trade, import of goods, food industry, etc.

Businessmen from the Russian region of Tambov are paying a visit to Macedonia to establish business contacts with Macedonian companies.

The Tambov region is a federal subject in Russia, located some 460 kilometers south of the capital. Its administrative center is the city of Tambov. 1,091,994 inhabitants live there according to the 2010 Census.

Austrians to build plant for Railway Sleepers in Kavadarci

Austrians will invest in Kavadarci in railway sleepers and electrical equipment, announced late today Aleksandar Panov, mayor of Kavadarci.

The plant will be the only one of its kind in SE Europe.

- The plant will serve the wider region. This is an Austrian investment that will employ about 300 people. The plant will be located in the industrial zone near “IGM” and “Kabranov packaging.” This is one more investment in a series of investments that come to our town and I am happy that Kavadarci’s citizens will have the opportunities to find more employment, said Panov.

The Mayor referred to the large number of employements expected in the municipality of Kavadarci, thanks to a few other foreign investments. Some of the employments have already been realized.

Winter Equipment mandatory for all vehicles starting today

As of Thursday, winter equipment in vehicles is mandatory, regardless of weather, says the Auto-Moto Union of Macedonia.

Tire chains are mandatory for all vehicles, while buses and cargo vehicles are also obliged to have a shovel.

The winter equipment is obligatory until 15 March 2013.

Mak Railway System next in line for upgrade

Works for overhaul of Corridor 10 railroad sections Kumanovo-Tabanovce and Miravci-Smokvica were launched at the Kumanovo railway station of Saturday.

The activities are part of the Government's project for reconstruction of Corridor 10, 54km-long sections, worth EUR 17,6 million.

Besides the Kumanovo-Tabanovce and Miravci-Smokvica sections, the project also includes railroad Nogaevci-Negotino.

"This reconstruction will significantly improve the railway's operations, increase safety of this type of transport, as well as enable increased speeds of trains up to 120kph", said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at the event marking the start of reconstruction works.

German consortium "Wiebe & Alpine" is the contractor of the works, due to be completed in one year.

According to PM Gruevski, preparatory activities for reconstruction of railroad section Bitola-Kremenica, which is currently not in use, have also begun, which would result in improvement of possibilities for transport between Macedonia and Greece.

"Its reconstruction is significant for industrial zone 'Zabeni' near Bitola, but also meets requirements by the business community for establishment of a railway link between the Pelagonija region and Greece's north", he added.

The Corridor 10 overhaul process also includes railroad sections Kumanovo-Deljadrovce and Dracevo-Veles, along with the reconstruction of larger railway stations.

"Besides investments in new and reconstruction of old railroad sections, we are planning the procurement of new train compositions and cars, improvements in safety and signal system at railroads, as well as other projects that clearly demonstrate the better tomorrow of Macedonia's railway transport", underlined PM Gruevski. 

Bitola joins regional project on protection of cultural heritage

Bitola with its old bazaar is one of the seven sites in Southeast Europe included in the Cherplan project, which aims at improving cultural heritage by planning the environment and management. The project is supported by UNESCO and financed by the European Union's IPA funds.

EUR 124.000 have been provided to realise Cherplan in Bitola and it is one of the four projects implemented in Macedonia with respect to cultural heritage protection with IPA funds.

Cherplan's (www.cherplan.eu) long-term goal is to enable sustainable development in historical towns, stimulation of social-economic development, improvement of the quality of living and opening of new jobs.

The project, planned to be closed in February 2014, will be promoted in 2014 together with the projects conducted by the remaining six countries - Aquileia (Italy), Berat (Albania), Cetinje (Montenegro), Hallstatt (Austria), Idrija (Slovenia) and Naupactus (Greece).

Bitola and the town's old bazaar have been proposed by experts on protection of cultural heritage. It has been concluded that Bitola with the old bazaar is the most adequate site for Cherplan.

Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska told a press conference on Wednesday that Cherplan was a regional example of establishing cooperation between cultural institutions focused on sustainable use of the cultural heritage and its significance in the country's social and economic development.

"Activities in Macedonia are focused on the important landmark, Bitola's old bazaar, which have witnessed the fulfilled business and cultural life of the town of consuls. The project's goal is to revitalise the bazaar in Bitola. A strategy of reviving the Bitola old bazaar with an action and business plan and a management plan on protecting the environment will be prepared in the future," Kanceska-Milevska said.

Macedonia's benefits for automotive industry presented in Germany

Macedonia's investment opportunities in the automotive sector were presented at a stand within this year's Berlin auto show "Automobilwoche", held November 5-7.

Minister for Foreign Investments Bill Pavleski and Directorate for Technological-Industrial Development Zones (DTIDZ) director Viktor Mizo took part at the event.

More than 300 delegates from the automotive industry in Europe and the world attended the event, whereas Macedonian officials met with representatives of numerous companies interested in Macedonia's investment benefits.

Automobilwoche annually brings together the most influential companies from the global automotive industry, said the DTIDZ in a press release.

Macedonia Timeless with new video

Interesting photos of Macedonia

The Petersko (Petridis) Lake in North Greece, with the Kozhuf mountain, Pelagonia plan (centred), Tikves vallery (center right), Ohrid and Prespa lakes (center left).

The great Pelagonia plain, photo taken at an altitude of 38.800 meters above Salonica.

38.8km away from the earth.
From left to right: Ohrid & Prespa lakes, Pelagonia plain, Nidze & Kozhuf mountains, S'botsko (Arridea) plain in North Greece, Tikvesh lake...

Doiran Lake from 20km altitude :)

 This photos are part of the Slaros Project.
More at: http://facebook.com/slaros.project

Screening of The Third Half at American Film Market

"The Third Half" by Darko Mitevrski will be screened Sunday at the Wilshire Screening Room in Beverly Hills as part of the American Film Market and so called Oscar Screenings.

These screenings are organised by the European Film Promotion and the EU's Media Programme.

"The Macedonian Film Fund, as a member of this organisation, every year submits Macedonia's Oscar contender and takes part in the organisation of these screenings in a bid to enable the film to be presented before members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and interested buyers of the American Film Market," the Film Fund has said.

Darko Mitrevski's film is one of the ten European candidates vying to be nominated for the Oscar for best foreign language feature, which will be showcased at a special screening in Los Angeles. These films are screened at the American Film Market on November 1-7.

Trpceski puts Macedonia on BBC Music pages

Piano virtuoso Simon Trpceski has put Macedonia at the pages of the November issue of world-renowned magazine for classical music "BBC Music" under title "Macedonian Magic: We Visit the Balkan City of Skopje".

In the framework of its cycle "Musical Destinations" and inspired by Macedonian pianist Trpceski, journalist Jessica Duchen paid a visit to Skopje, or as she calls it in the text title "Ancient Heart of the Balkans". In the subtitle, she says the Macedonian capital is where, thanks to pianist Simon Trpieski, "an exciting classical music scene is beginning to take shape".

"Macedonia, formerly part of Yugoslavia, is best known as the birthplace of Alexander the Great. But it's also famous for having suffered a devastating earthquake in 1963. In Macedonia, though, the deeper you dig, the more there is to find, in every sense. Its soul remains very much intact, historic, atmospheric and fascinating - and its forays into classical music are becoming more exciting by the year. This owes much to the influence of one crucial firebrand: the pianist Simon Trpceski, who at 33 has already been the country's chief cultural ambassador for over a decade. He has made it his mission to put Macedonia on the cultural map, working with his management in London as well as with the local culture and arts organisation KulturOp to raise standards of both performance and operation", says Duchen.

According to her, the effects are tangible. Thanks to sponsorship from local businesses, the city now has a Steinway concert grand piano and state-of-the-art equipment to transport it. And international orchestras have begun to visit Skopje at last: the Bolshoi Orchestra was first, in 2009, and a year later the London Philharmonic under Vladimir Jurowski became the first major British orchestra to play there.

"I believe that those concerts were one of the reasons behind the project to build a new concert hall which will be the home of the Macedonian Philharmonic," says the pianist.

Duchen refers to the Ohrid Summer Festival, Skopje Summer, Skopje Jazz Festival, Macedonian Philharmonic, Macedonian folk music, Macedonian composers, churches, the Old Skopje Bazaar, Kale fortress, archaeological sites, Kokino observatory etc.

"Macedonians love good, fresh, local food and wine- the country is well suited to vineyards. And it's no exaggeration to say that Skopje's welcome is among the warmest I've experienced, even in chilly December", concludes Duchen.

TeknoHose Opens Macedonian Plant

Italian company “TeknoHose” will put into use Monday its plant in Macedonia, located in Technological Industrial Development Zone (TDIZ) Skopje 1. The investment stands at EUR 10 million, with the plant creating 150 jobs.

The plant will produce high pressure reinforced rubber hoses, used in construction, automotive industry etc. Output will be distributed to markets in the countries of Southeast Europe and Russia.

Company “TeknoHose”, registered in Macedonia under name “Vitek Macedonia”, is a member of Italy’s Vitillo Group. It purchased an existing facility in TIDZ Skopje 1, which has been completely built and adapted.

The company plans to start the construction of a second facility in 2013 for production of hydraulic couplings for reinforced hoses.