As early as February 2012, Turkish company Limak had bought construction land near the old railway station, intended for the construction of hotels, trading and shopping centres and catering facilities. This attractive construction land, with an area covering 31,929 square meters, the Turkish investors bought for approximately 3.2 million euros. Although they initially offered 6,000 denars per square meter, they eventually purchased the land for 300 denars higher per square meter than their initial bid.
However, before they realizing their announced investment, they committed to build an underground street. When signing the contract, four years ago, Skopje mayor Koce Trajanovski sent out a clear message that the Turks were to build the underground street first, before continuing with the other construction.
"The contract obligates the investor to build the underground boulevard first, before they are able to build any of the facilities over it. This means that the construction of hotels, shopping malls, and other buildings can begin only after the boulevard is ready. The new street will be constructed 6 meters underground; it will be 800 meters long and it will have three lanes in each direction," stated mayor Trajanovski for media after signing the contract.
After a four-year hiatus, and failing the one-year deadline to start construction, which expired back in 2013, in 2016 the Turkish company returned to their investment in Macedonia and reported that it was going to build a complex worth 250 million euros.
According to announcements, the complex provides four 20-storey buildings with 1,000 apartments, a shopping mall, a casino, a trading facility, a centre for cultural activities and a parking lot. The company's management stated that during the construction, 700 people a month will be hired and after the construction is finished, the company will employ 2,000 to 2,500 people permanently.
The full implementation of the project, whose launch is expected in early 2017, should be completed in two and a half to three years. Pursuant to the contract with the authorities, the existing building of the Museum of the City of Skopje will not be disturbed and it will be incorporated into the complex in a stylish manner.
Turkish investors opened two companies in Macedonia in March 2013, Limak AD for construction, industry and commerce - Skopje Branch, and Limak DOO Skopje.
As of 2015, Limak DOO’s assets amounted to 9.24 million euros, out of which 6.6 million were non-current assets. In this company there were only 3 registered employees, and in 2016 the number of employees rose to 20.
The second company, Limak Skopje Branch, had total assets of 2.9 million euros by 2015, of which approximately one million were in non-current assets. Records show that this company had 2 employees in 2015, while in 2016, it had no employees.
Aside from the construction industry, Limak has investments in hotel businesses, the energy sector and tourism. The company is also building the new airport in Istanbul, which is supposed to be the biggest one in the world.
Limak Holding is one of the largest investors in Turkey and was founded in 1976.