In the presence of the Ministers Lilyana Pavlova and Ivaylo Moskovski was initiated the construction of the section of LOT 3 of Struma Motorway from Kresna to Sandanski

In the presence of the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Lilyana Pavlova, and the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Ivaylo Moskovski, the contracts for construction, project and supervision of LOT 3.3 of Struma Motorway have been signed. The road section from Kresna to Sandanski, which is approximately 24 km long, has to be implemented for three and a half years. The highest contract price is BGN 280,947,614, vat included, and the bid proposed by the selected contractor could not be higher.

The contractor of the construction works is ‘Struma – LOT 3.3’ Consortium, including GBS Infrastructure Construction AD, Patstroy-92 AD, Glavbolgarstroy AD, and Geostroy AD. The contractor of supervision is Patinvestengineering AD.

Minister Lilyana Pavlova said that today is the start of the development of that long-expected road section of Struma Motorway, part of the entire project for the motorway through Kresna gorge. This is the first project that would be cofinanced through the new Operational Programme “Transport and transport infrastructure” 2014-2020.      
The Minister reminded that only a week ago the Council of Ministers had adopted a decision with which gave consent the Managing Authority of the Operational Programme “Transport and Transport Infrastructure” 2014 - 2020 in the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications to sign a contract with the National Company “Strategic infrastructure projects” for granting financial assistance for the implementation of the works on Lot 3.3. ‘That is important because unlike the previous programming period and having in mind the significance of this road direction, we haven’t wasted time and have conducted public procurements to select the companies for the design, construction and supervision, in parallel with the adoption of the Operational Programme in order to begin the construction immediately’, said Pavlova.
The Regional Minister explained that about 62 km of Struma highway, which cover the entire LOT 3 divided into three subsections, remain to be implemented. LOT 3.1 begins from the city of Blagoevgrad, where the construction of LOT 2 of the motorway would be completed in the upcoming few days, and ends to Krupnik as a subproject is included – the tunnel of Zheleznik. Lot 3.2 passes completely through Kresna gorge, while Lot 3.3 is between the towns Sandanski and Kresna, joining into the finished a month ago Lot 4 Sandanski-Kulata. ‘Today we start the real work on the construction of another 24 km motorway, thus extending Sofia - Greece direction, which is the busiest road section. The traffic we saw in the previous days requires a motorway. Therefore, we conclude the contract agreement early, so that the selected contractor would be able to start work immediately,’ emphasized Liliana Pavlova.
The Minister explained that the contract would be carried out on the principle of engineering, i.e. the contractor would firstly complete the existing project for the development of the motorway from Kresna to Sandanski. According to the conceptual design along the 24 km road, two road junctions and nine bridge facilities have to be constructed, as their exact parameters would be known with the entire design. In parallel, the appropriation of lands is about to start, which is a significant element for the issuance of construction permit. It would be carried out during the winter period, as Minister Pavlova expressed hope that the construction of the project would start at the beginning of the construction season of 2016. ‘Maximum early start of the construction works will enable the implementation of the project before the term set,’ said she.

The Minister of Regional Development and Public Works informed that a contractor for LOT 3.1 – from Blagoevgrad to Krupnik has been chosen, but there is an appeal and when the procedures end, a contract would be signed up to several months. This would enable the construction of total of 40 km from the road section. The construction of the LOT through Kresna gorge remains. Minister Pavlova said that this is the most serious challenge over which work is currently in progress. ‘Until the end of the year we will take the best project decision. The project work is on the principle of the best combination of technical decision concerning crossing, ecology, financing, which is the safest, fast and environmentally friendly construction in Kresna Gorge. The option for construction of a tunnel dropped out long ago due to technical, financial and seismological groundlessness,’ said Minister Pavlova. She noted that it has been worked on several options for passing through the gorge, which include crossing of two levels in some sites, sections with short tunnels and viaducts, a combination of facilities. ‘I expect till the end of the year to have a technical project, which will be offered to public discussion, concord, ecological assessment, and I hope to launch a tender procedure for selecting a contractor in 2016 after the approval. The total time for the implementation of Lot 3 of Struma motorway is until 2022, but we hope to complete the sections up to 2019 while the section through Kresna gorge to be ready by the deadline,’ said Minister Pavlova.

Minister Ivaylo Moskovski wished success to the companies responsible for the construction works and supervison. In his words, they have proven over the years as experts and to be able to work. ‘The signing of this contract is another proof of the partnership and the good, collaborative work between our two ministries, the Managing Authority and the beneficiaries from National Company Strategic Infrastructure Projects and Road Infrastructure Agency. ‘I would like to thank Minister Pavlova. For the first time the Operational Programme starts with good implementation readiness, because during the previous programming period all projects were delayed with the procedures costing us a lot of efforts to make up for the delay. Thanks to the efforts we saved the Programme and we end with a very good disburse ratio and a number of successful projects,’ said Minister Moskovski.

The design and construction of LOT 3 of Struma motorway is the main project under priority Axis 2 within Operational Programme “Transport and Transport Infrastructure” 2014-2020, co-financed by the European Cohesion fund.