240 new ambulances have been provided to the Emergency Medical Centres, 160 more are coming (Video)

EC reimburses Bulgaria over BGN 1.2 billion for urban and regional development projects

240 new ambulances have been bought and provided to Emergency Medical Centres in the country.  Another 20 specialised vehicles are expected to be delivered by the end of the year.  This was announced by the Minister of Health Prof. Dr. Kostadin Angelov during the annual information event for reporting on the progress of the Operational Programme "Regions in Growth" 2014-2020, organized by the Ministry of Regional Development. Minister Angelov noted that 140 new ambulances will be distributed next year.  A public procurement procedure is also underway to buy 42 all-terrain ambulances for hard-to-reach areas.  

The complete renewal of the fleet is part of the large project for the modernization of the emergency care in the country, which is financed by the OPRG with BGN 164 million.  It also provides for the overhaul and re-equipment of 237 facilities located in 34 hospitals, 27 emergency medical care centres and 180 of their branches across the country.  Contracts for construction and renovation works, author's and construction supervision have been signed for most of the buildings.  By the end of the year, work will start on the renovation of emergency centres in Gabrovo, Sevlievo, Dryanovo, Dve mogili and others, Minister Angelov said.

With funding from the OPRG, 3,580 emergency care devices have already been delivered and are being used to treat patients in the country, including respirators - stationary and transport, monitors, bronchoscopes, negativoscopes and other valuable equipment needed for monitoring and manipulation.  This month also sees the start of deliveries of non-medical equipment, which includes germicidal lamps for illumination during intervention, resuscitation beds, couches, etc. A contract for more than 14,000 pieces of office equipment for the Urgent Care Centres and Emergency Departments is also to be signed.

"Thanks to the funds from the OPRG, the emergency care system will have a new look and content.  Bulgarian patients will have access to a quality and modern level of healthcare, as European citizens have.  Bulgaria will have a modernised healthcare in the field of emergency rescue, at the same level as in Europe, both in terms of equipment and the care that patients will receive," said Prof. Dr. Angelov.

More than 96% of the resources of the OPRG or BGN 2.91 billion have been contracted for the approved projects to date, said Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works and Head of the Managing Authority of the programme Denitsa Nikolova.  More than BGN 1.8 billion have been disbursed to the various beneficiaries and BGN 1.217 billion have been confirmed and reimbursed to our country by the EC. Of the 714 projects approved so far, half have been successfully completed and reported.  "This gives us confidence that we will achieve the final goals we have set for ourselves," said Deputy Minister Nikolova.

Nearly 370 km of second and third class national roads have been rehabilitated with funding from the Operational Programme for Regional Development, said Georgi Terziyski, Chairman of the Management Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency during the information event.  The road sections are important for better transport connectivity of regions and municipalities, and the repairs contribute to improving road safety in the country.  "The programme also supports the construction industry, which has the opportunity to work," Terziiski added.

The Executive Director of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, Sylvia Georgieva, stressed the importance of the Operational Programme for the development and change of the image of the Bulgarian municipalities.  In the current programming period the local authorities, beneficiaries of the programme, have implemented over 630 projects with investments of over BGN 1.8 billion.

A special address at the information event was given by Vittoria Alliatta di Villafranca, Director General of the Directorate for Regional and Urban Policy at the European Commission.  She stated that the OPRG is a very important programme for municipalities and cities in Bulgaria with its investments at local level.  "This is a programme that is close to the people in the cities.  It offers support, both for finding better jobs, access to modern schools, healthcare, the pleasant appearance of settlements, etc. It is important to be able to give young people the opportunity to stay in Bulgarian cities," she said.  "I am pleased to see that we had the opportunity to invest.  I had the opportunity to see with my own eyes how schools are being renovated, how cities are becoming better places to live and also how much has been done to improve sustainable urban transport, as we call it in EU cities," added Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca and congratulated the team of the Programme Managing Authority for a job well done.

During the presentation of the report it became clear that to date 325 million BGN are invested in Northwestern Bulgaria from the OPRG.  Nearly BGN 356 million are invested under the programme in the municipalities of the North Central region and over BGN 364 million are invested in the settlements of the Northeast region.  111 contracts for BGN 364 million are being implemented in the South-Eastern Region.  In the South-Central region, 154 contracts worth BGN 512 million are being implemented. In the Southwest Region, nearly BGN 555 million are invested, 66% of which are for improving the urban environment and modern public transport.