Vlen challenges DUI over Hasan Prishtina boulevard: If funds existed, why wasn't it built?
Vlen rejects DUI's claim that funds were redirected and asks why the boulevard was not built during two decades of DUI participation in government
Ruling party Vlen publicly challenged the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) after the opposition accused the government of diverting funds meant for Hasan Prishtina Boulevard — the section known locally as the Kacanik road — which critics say leaves the Skopje–Blace highway connection incomplete.
In a party statement, Vlen insisted the difference between the two approaches is visible in concrete works, not words. "Vlen does not talk about projects, they are built and can be seen. While DUI takes pictures, Vlen constructs on the ground. A highway to Gostivar is being built. Work is underway to connect the highway to Kicevo. Construction has begun on the highway link to Kosovo. Corridor 8 is being built," the statement reads.
Vlen accused DUI of spending two decades promising and announcing projects without delivering, saying that while DUI claimed funds were secured, the population was left only with promises and the party elite with privileges. "DUI once again boasts about its favorite thing, that it has 'secured' something, and lies. A whole world full of false promises. Citizens were left with promises, and the party elite of DUI with privileges," the party said.
Vlen asks where the money was kept
The ruling party posed blunt questions to DUI: "Where did you keep it? Where were those funds sitting? Were they hidden somewhere?" Vlen argued that for two decades the western part of the country suffered from narrow bottlenecks, dangerous roads and unfinished routes while major infrastructure priorities were sent elsewhere. "While DUI was an indispensable part of every government, the big infrastructure stories ended with photographs and tender announcements. Western Macedonia waited, while priorities went other places. Construction was done for Shtip and Gevgelija," the party added.
Vlen listed current works it says show a different record: boulevards in Tetovo, investment in the new campus of Mother Teresa University in Skopje, and boulevard and infrastructure projects in Struga. The party also said it is implementing street, sewer, water and local infrastructure projects in municipalities with Albanian populations. "The excavators are on the ground, and DUI is at a press conference. That is the whole difference," Vlen said.
Responding to Vlen, DUI called the reported reallocation of funds for Hasan Prishtina Boulevard proof that the government lacks a vision and the capacity to understand the strategic importance of the project. "Now, instead of those funds being used to implement this strategic project, Vlen redirects them to another project in the center of Skopje. This is a clear indication of their inability to execute strategic projects, but also of their hypocrisy regarding the Skopje–Blace connection," DUI said. The party also claimed the Skopje–Blace highway, which it says had been prepared under its watch, was delayed by two and a half years and became more expensive by over 30 million euros under the current government.
Photo: press material from the event
