Government backs 40 million-euro domestic loan for Public Enterprise for State Roads
Government issued a state guarantee on 4 August so the road agency may borrow 40 million euros from two domestic banks.
The Government on 4 August issued a state guarantee allowing the Public Enterprise for State Roads to take a new domestic loan of 40 million euros, to be provided by Komercijalna Banka AD Skopje and Halkbank AD Skopje. The cabinet decision grants the enterprise permission to borrow again on the domestic market under state-backed terms.
Unlike earlier approvals, the recent decision does not specify a concrete project for the funds. The text of the decision states only: financing of assumed decisions and refinancing of debts.
Growing dependence on domestic credit
Earlier in June the enterprise was authorised to borrow 140 million euros to finance Corridor 8 and Corridor 10D — specifically the road from Prilep to Bitola. At roughly the same time another domestic borrowing of just over 176 million euros was approved for financing the Kichevo–Ohrid motorway, a project that has been under construction for more than a decade.
Taken together, the Public Enterprise for State Roads has received state guarantees enabling domestic borrowings that exceed 356 million euros within a short period — an exposure that increases the enterprise’s reliance on domestic banks to cover large infrastructure needs.
The enterprise’s financing picture is even broader: loans were also obtained from M‑NAV, MEPSO and the State Lottery to help service repayments on the loan the road company took from the Chinese EXIM Bank for motorway construction. This illustrates that repayments for earlier foreign financing have at times been covered through credit and transfers among state-owned companies.
Public Enterprise for State Roads reports on its website that it generated more than 200 million euros in revenues in 2024; its 2025 report was not available at the time of the decision (reports are normally published by the end of June). Ministry of Finance quarterly figures show the enterprise recorded a profit of over 27 million euros in the last quarter of 2024. ([roads.org.mk](https://roads.org.mk/en/2025/page/2/?utm_source=openai))
Photo: press material from the event
