BGN 60 million are provided for charging infrastructure for electric vehicles under OP "Regional Development"

"Under the Regional Development Programme 2021-2027, more than BGN 376 million are provided for sustainable urban mobility, of which nearly BGN 60 million are for the construction of charging infrastructure." This was announced by Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Stefan Asparuhov. Together with the Commercial Attaché of the British Embassy, Tim Buisseret, Deputy Minister Asparuhov opened a conference on "Sustainable Mobility: Incentives and Implementation of Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles ".

The operational programme will finance measures for sustainable mobility, including charging infrastructure for clean vehicles and the introduction of intelligent transport systems. The equipment for charging electric cars is eligible for funding as part of the energy efficiency measures of the building stock under the programme.

Asparuhov also announced that under the National Plan for Reconstruction and Sustainability, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, together with the State Agency for Road Safety, plans to implement a pilot scheme to support sustainable urban mobility "Green Mobility". The total budget for it is expected to be BGN 100 million. The scheme will finance integrated projects for sustainable urban and interurban transport on the territory of 40 municipalities. Measures to provide charging stations for public transport vehicles and intelligent transport systems will also be implemented, it became clear from the words of the Deputy Minister.

At the same time, in order to provide the necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works is working on amendments to the Ordinance on planning and design of the communication and transport system in urban areas. The changes envisage that in the new public service buildings with more than 10 parking spaces, at least one out of every five parking spaces will be equipped with a charging point for an electric vehicle, explained Stefan Asparuhov. For new residential buildings with more than ten separate parking spaces, when providing spaces for electric vehicles with charging point equipment, the design of the building must provide for 10% of the parking spaces to be for electric vehicles.

"The issue of increasing electro mobility is complex, has different aspects and its development can only be done by uniting the efforts of different administrative structures and involving different organisations, businesses and municipalities," said the Deputy Minister. According to him, the opportunity to activate more resources on the part of the European Commission in order to stimulate the construction of the necessary infrastructure is also important for this purpose.

The Deputy Minister presented to the participants in the event some of the normative acts regulating the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. According to the Spatial Planning Act, a permit is issued for the installation of chargers for electric vehicles, based on a scheme and project documentation approved by the chief architect of the municipality.

The Energy Act introduces the requirements for connecting the charging points to the respective electricity transmission network operator, as well as for measuring the electricity supplied by the network.

The event is part of the British Embassy's campaign to promote emission reductions and the sharing of good practices following the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), hosted by the UK and Italy.