On 14th January 2025, the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport presented North Macedonia with a draft agreement for the construction of the Deve Bair border railway tunnel. This is primarily intended to secure the expansion of the line between Gjueševo in Bulgaria and Kriva Palanka in North Macedonia. The project is part of the strategic transport corridor VIII. The draft agreement regulates technical, financial, and legal aspects of tunnelling in accordance with European and national legislation. Both countries are to form working groups to prepare the tendering documents and draw up a construction schedule within three months of the agreement coming into force. The aim is to obtain EU- and NATO-compliant subsidies for the project. The tunnel, whose construction began in 1941 but was halted in 1943, is to be around 2.4 km long, around 1.2 km of which will be on Bulgarian territory. Completion of the missing section is estimated at €33 million.
