Private Sector Eyes Role in Macedonian Freight

A government-proposed amendment to the Railway Law, which will allow private firms to organize their own freight transport, has alarmed experts in the state railway company.

The amendment passed the first reading in parliament earlier this week.

If it is adopted, companies will have the right to purchase their own rolling stock and also hire train operators.

“This will mainly interest big companies, mostly from the metals sector that are big importers and exporters and have the capacity to organize such transport,”  Deputy Transport Minister Nimetula Halimi explained.

But sources inside the freight transport wing of Macedonian Railways, MZ, have voiced concern about the potential loss of some of their most lucrative business operations.

The company has hitherto had a monopoly on the transport of goods and passengers on the country's railway network.

This firm, which has long depended on state subsidiaries, has made most of its profits from organizing the transport of goods for the private sector.

“This change could cut out our biggest and most reliable source of income,” a source close to the management of MZ – Transport told Balkan Insight under condition of anonymity.

The new amendment signals a change of direction in policy on the railways. Two years ago Macedonia postponed moves to part-privatize the railway sector until such time as the country enters the European Union.

In 2012, Transport Minister Mile Janakieski defended the move by saying that the state owned firm needed to be defended from competition, as a major employer.

This was unwelcome news to Slovenian Railways and the Czech firm Loco Trans, which had expressed interest in entering the Macedonian railway...