In Kumanovo, the gasification of the city sports hall has begun - a concrete step showing that natural gas is slowly entering where heating previously ran on expensive and polluting alternatives.

Construction work to connect the hall to the distribution gas network is already under way, announced mayor Maksim Dimitrievski. Teams from the public company "Kumanovo-gas" are working on the underground installation, and the connection is expected to be finished by the end of July, so that ahead of the start of the new heating season the building is warmed by gas.

Gasifying institutions isn't just a technical question - it means cleaner heating and, over time, lower bills for buildings that the citizens sustain. Kumanovo has for years been expanding its gas network, and every new connection is small proof that infrastructure, when there's the will, can advance. The question that remains is when the gas will reach households too, after the institutions - because it's precisely ordinary families who feel the heating bills the most every winter.