Hemus and Struma will continue to be a priority for MRDPW in 2018

The construction of the Hemus and Struma motorways will be a priority for the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works in 2018. Hemus affects the future of Northern Bulgaria, which is lagging behind in its development from Southern Bulgaria and due to the lack of modern and speed road connections. This imbalance must be overcome in order to stop the depopulation of the region.

The total length of the motorway is 420 km. At present, the Sofia-Yablanitsa and Belokopitovo-Varna sections have been built or a total of 165 km. Next year, another 75 km should be built - from Yablanitsa to road connection Boaza, from Boaza to the Lovech-Pleven road, as well as the Belokopitovo-Buhovtsi section. At the request of MRDPW, additional BGN 85 million were allocated from the State budget for 2018 for the construction of this key road connection.

The Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo motorway is also important for the accelerated development of Northern Bulgaria. The preparation of its construction is fast-paced. The Ministry of Environment and Water will come up with an opinion on the EIA report of the project and the engineering and contractor selection procedures will be launched in 2018. The new Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo motorway may be completed in 2021-2022.

The year 2018 will be important for the Struma Motorway, too. It is expected that Lot 3.3 from Kresna to Sandanski will be ready 6 months earlier - as early as November 2018. The Road Infrastructure Agency’s ambition is the timely completion of the most difficult section - through the Kresna Gorge. No later than the end of next March, the entire tender documentation for the selection of contractors for design, construction and construction supervision should be ready. The indicative deadline for launching the public procurement is 30 April 2018 and if there is no appeal, contractors should be selected by the end of August.

The project for modernization of the motorway from Kalotina to Sofia is very important for the relations between the Balkan countries and the expedient traffic flow. Preparations for the section from the Kalotina Border Checkpoint to Slivnitsa, which is 31 km long and has an indicative value of BGN 258.6 million, have already begun. The public procurement for the selection of contractors for the two sections - from Kalotina to Dragoman and from Dragoman to Slivnitsa are being appealed, but the Commission for Protection of Competition hasn’t initiated proceedings and soon the contracts will be announced again.

This is one of the significant projects launched during the Borisov 3 Cabinet. Between 5 May 2017 and now, investment of more than BGN 1.5 billion has been approved. In addition to the Struma and Hemus sections, under OP Regions in Growth 2014-2020 193 km of second-class and third-class roads are being repaired, and first sods of sites worth BGN 160 million. Among them are the Plovdiv-Asenovgrad, Buchin Pass-Berkovitsa, Vratsa-Ledenika roads, etc. An estimated 246 km will be contracted, with total value of OPRG investments of BGN 380 million.

The reconstruction of the Pomorie-Aheloy section with the construction of a second lane is very important for increasing traffic safety, as is the construction of the Aheloy bypass, which will shift the traffic out of town. In 2018, the construction of the Pomorie bypass shall begin.

A great deal of retrofitting works is also expected in 2018. Next year, at least 1,000 buildings will be retrofitted with contracts signed with the Bulgarian Development Bank in the period 2015-2016. Through Operational Program Regions in Growth 2014-2020, MRDPW also invested BGN 624 million in educational and sports infrastructure in 416 schools, kindergartens, and higher education institutions.

Each of these projects will generate revenue, create jobs, result in development and economic growth.