The contract for 150 electric buses and 75 charging stations was signed back on September 9. The public only got to see it now, after it was posted on the Electronic Public Procurement System - following a month of journalists asking whether the contract even existed.

It is worth 3,682,728,084 denars, or almost 60 million euros. The buses are supplied by the Hungarian company Ikarus Electric, which bid jointly with Zhongtong Bus Holding and EVN Macedonia Electricity Supply, with EVN providing the charging stations. A single electric bus costs 19,796,923.97 denars excluding VAT, or 321,958.27 euros. Of the 150 buses, 100 go to Skopje and 50 to other towns with organised public transport.

Deadlines on paper

Under the contract, the first 30 buses and 15 stations must arrive no later than six months after signing, meaning by March 9, 2027. The next 60 buses and 30 stations are due by September 9, 2027, and the rest by March 9, 2028 at the latest. Earlier announcements had promised Skopje its first 30 buses by January 2027 at the latest.

Every day of delay carries a contractual penalty of 0.1 percent of the value of the undelivered buses and stations, but only for up to 30 days. After that, the Ministry of Transport has the right to terminate the contract and call in the guarantee. The deadlines can be extended in case of force majeure or significant changes to the project requested by the Ministry.

Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski and Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski have already been boasting that the clock is ticking. Skopje commuters, who wait at stops every day and ride in vehicles long overdue for "retirement," will believe it when they see the first bus. At what pace the vehicles will actually reach the capital is, for now, anyone's guess.