Minister architect Ivan Shishkov: We expand border checkpoint “Lesovo” and reverse the direction of the oil pipeline “Alexandroupolis - Burgas”

The Lesovo border checkpoint will be expanded and an expressway will connect it to the Maritsa highway. This was announced by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works architect Ivan Shishkov during his guest appearance on “This Morning” on BTV.

“Our border checkpoints are extremely impassable and have a throughput problem. President Rumen Radev is already in talks with Turkish President Recep Erdoğan to expand the Lesovo border checkpoint. According to our proposal, in addition to the extension of “Lesovo”, we will also make an expressway to connect the checkpoint with the Maritsa Highway, the minister said. Thus, together with the border checkpoint “Kalotina” there will be two large checkpoints that will be able to absorb the huge traffic.

So is the motorway “Ruse - Makaza”, which is extremely important because it is not just an autobahn, it is a geopolitical highway, the regional minister further explained.

Architect Shishkov also reported something very important - that on the day the work on the interconnector with Greece was completed, the talks of our President Rumen Radev with the Greek President on the Aluxandroupolis-Burgas oil pipeline started. “We are reversing the movement and direction of this oil pipeline. The issue of it is extremely important because in another year or so our oil will go from being the cheapest at the moment to the most expensive. Talks in this direction have not only started, but the specifics are already being worked on, besides at the expert level, at the political level,” the regional minister said.

The Minister also commented on the subject of why we have so few motorways and the problems associated with payments and the poor quality of paving. According to him, the biggest problem is that because of the few motorways built, the traffic on them is very high. He pointed out that in the last 10-12 years there has been no strategy not only for the development of motorways but also for the entire infrastructure in Bulgaria. And this can be done not in one term - here is the difference between politicians and experts.

Architect Shishkov pointed out that the problem with the Struma Motorway has been set since Borisov’s time. Only now we have a final procedure to finalize to study the measures to protect the natural environment, and then to prepare the detailed development plan. I believe that there will be a permit for a small section in April, May. Politicians talk a lot about motorways but do little,” Shishkov summed up.

He explained that during the previous regular cabinet, 50% of what was owed to the companies was paid. We have now paid 100% but for all the ongoing repairs carried out. However, we cannot pay for the repairs that have been done as major repairs because they have become illegal constructions, though not the fault of the construction companies,” the regional minister said. He noted that in order to solve this problem, a text has already been submitted to the National Assembly to amend the Spatial Planning Act, referring to the illegal construction carried out. Architect Shishkov also elaborated on his idea of giving concessions to roads - according to him, this will reduce corruption and increase the quality of their maintenance.

Tomorrow, the regional minister has invited Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova to make a joint inspection of the repair of the “yellow pavements” in Sofia. On this occasion, he commented in BTV’s cold that the problem with the yellow pavements is very serious and hopes to inspect the repair works together with the mayor of the capital and see all the problems. He recalled that the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works has extended the deadline for the repairs by 6 months so that the European funds for the construction of the site are not lost. The funds were provided by the Regional Development Operational Programme. A month and a half after the last meeting between the Minister and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, no information has been received as to where the problem lies in the project or the contractors.

The Minister commented that for the repair of Graf Ignatyev Street, which is part of the project with the renovation of the yellow pavements, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works did not do a quality inspection of the implementation. At the suggestion of the Minister, the Mayor of Sofia has asked the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works to pay the European money. Therefore, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works has started a performance check. As a result, as of yesterday serious repair works have started on Graf Ignatyev Street. But he pointed out that the worrying thing in this case was something else - in the last 2-3 weeks Sofia was empty and the weather was spring-like, and nobody did anything to fix the problems, although a lot of work could have been done. “We don’t want to impose a financial correction on the project because that would punish Sofia, not Fandakova politics. I want to help so we can fix all the defects and finish the repairs. Let’s do it the way it should be done and enjoy them,” Minister Shishkov was adamant.