All summer without Skopje's Vodno cable car — JSP still has not found a service contractor

Skopje's cable car to Mount Vodno remains out of service four months after Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski announced its closure because of serious defects and risks to passengers. The city's public operator, JSP Skopje, has not yet completed procurement or started the rehabilitation work needed to return the installation to operation.

Problems first became visible in April, when the cable car frequently stopped: operators reported it out of service every other day because of strong wind, it did not run on scheduled Mondays, and the last Tuesday of each month it stopped for a routine technical check. In practice, April saw more days without service than with it.

In May the mayor summoned representatives of the Austrian manufacturer Doppelmayr for an inspection. Their findings, Gjorgjievski said, showed that a full service had never been carried out and that worn components created a risk that a gondola could detach.

"I asked representatives from Doppelmayr to come, after which it was determined that a service had not been carried out. Offers were requested from the company, but for nothing. Not once was a contract signed for full servicing. The inspection showed that the rubber seals were eaten and therefore there was friction on the gondolas. Also, several sensors were not working. For these reasons it could have happened that a gondola detached," Gjorgjievski said.

Budget, tendering and the repair timeline

City officials said the cable car would remain closed after the Austrian team's assessment. The municipality allocated €300,000 for repairs but has not been able to specify the final cost of a full rehabilitation. According to the city, the problem is the absence of large, long-overdue services: only minor interventions had been made over the roughly 15 years the installation has been operating.

Responding to inquiries, the municipality told the press that "the procedure for selecting an economic operator to carry out the necessary activities is underway, under the provisions of the Public Procurement Law, through the Public Enterprise JSP, which operates the cable car." The same statement added that "the procedure is expected to be completed in the next period, after which the rehabilitation activities will begin, according to a pre-established plan and schedule for implementation. It is a serious undertaking, the result of long-term neglect, and it requires a thorough and responsible approach. We are working intensively on its implementation and it will be completed as soon as possible, in accordance with all prescribed safety standards."

As of today, four months after the shutdown, JSP has still not signed the tender contract to carry out the repairs. City officials did not give a firm deadline for when the work will be finished, saying only that the tender will be finalized "in the coming period" and that the rehabilitation plan is complex.

Earlier this year the director of the Agency for Management of Protected Areas, Ivica Tomovski, proposed extending the cable car with a new branch running from the Kozle hospital area to Kapishtec and said he would discuss the idea and financing with Mayor Gjorgjievski. "Tomorrow we have a meeting on both issues with Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski; we will talk about both topics, again we will seek a way of financing and funds from where these funds can be obtained," Tomovski said then. Nine months later, instead of progressing toward a second line, Skopje has no functioning line at all, and there has been no public update on the extension plan; the city says responsibility for that project has been transferred to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

Citizens who once relied on the cable car remain without the service for the summer season, with no precise completion date announced and safety checks and a full overhaul still pending.

Photo: press material from the event