Minister Karadjov: We must be far-sighted and develop projects that will be implemented in years to come

Minister Karadjov: We must be far-sighted and develop projects that will be implemented in years to come

13 Jan 2022 | 17:18

"The investment process is slow, so we need to be far-sighted and develop as many technical projects for infrastructure as possible, which will be implemented in years to come."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Public Works - Grozdan Karadjov stated this at a working meeting on the development of strategic infrastructure sites.

The meeting was attended by the management of the Road Infrastructure Agency, as well as the directors of its directorates, the Institute of Roads and Bridges, “Highways” Ltd and the Directorate for National Construction Control.

The completion of the Hemus highway, of which 240 km remain to be completed, is a priority of the government and my primary task is to speed up the procedures on it, said Minister Karadjov. Based on the estimates of the RIA experts, the realistic deadline for its full implementation is 2027, it became clear today. In 2022, BGN 330 million is needed to finance the activities on the sections of the highway, the road agency also pointed out.

Sections 1, 2 and 3 are currently being implemented on the Hemus highway. There are technical projects for the 4th, 5th and 6th section and they are expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The last ones will be ready on the 7th and 8th section. They will start to be implemented in 2024, and they will be worked on for 36 months. For the eighth section, however, the route needs to be changed, and expropriations are needed. A technical project is ready for section 9, its construction is expected to start in 2023 and be completed in three years. The tenth section is the most advanced - 98% completed. It will be completed at the end of May this year.

The realistic deadline for the completion of the Vidin-Botevgrad highway is also 2027, and BGN 642 million is needed for the implementation of all lots on the road this year, RIA reported.

The section from Kalotina to Dragoman - part of the Europe Motorway under construction, should be ready by the middle of the year, according to road experts, and from Hrabarsko to the Sofia Ring Road - at the end of 2024. The Minister announced the construction of the first section that he has received dozens of complaints and ordered RIA to take measures on the spot tomorrow to secure the route. The Deputy Prime Minister recommended to the road experts in the future that all contracts be prepared in such a way that "there are maximum possibilities for sanctions for those who build in this ugly way."

It is possible to issue a permit for the construction of the Black Sea highway, with a length of about 100 km, in 2027, after all the necessary preparatory procedures for the project have been carried out, the Deputy Prime Minister said. Regarding the construction of the highway Ruse - Veliko Tarnovo - the realistic course for its completion is 2030, as the work on the section Ruse - Byala and the bypass of the town of Byala may be completed in 2028.

A total of about BGN 3 billion is needed for the projects for the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo highway, for the Gabrovo bypass road with the tunnel under Shipka and for the section of the Struma highway through the Kresna Gorge, it became clear at the meeting.

The section from Blagoevgrad to Krupnik is almost built from the Struma highway, but there is a 500-meter sub-section with a landslide, which needs to be strengthened. The permit for this will be ready in April, and the necessary term for its strengthening is one year, RIA reported. The section at the Zheleznitsa viaduct on the Struma Motorway will be completed after the landslide is strengthened, and the Zheleznitsa tunnel is expected to be ready in the middle of this year.

Possible options for building the last lot of the highway - through the Kresna Gorge – are three in total. Until one of them is selected, none of the next stages of implementation can be passed and no deadline can be set for completion.

"The work on the tunnel under Shipka has not stopped," said Minister Karadjov and summed up that he has a ready-made extended conceptual design and completed a procedure for building engineering, i.e. for design and construction. A contractor has been selected, but no contract has been signed, because no funding has been secured yet.

Another important project that will provide a faster connection through the ridge of Stara Planina - the tunnel under Petrohan, is expected to be almost 7 kilometers long and have highway dimensions. It is expected to have a building permit by 2026, and given its complexity, possibly in 2031 to have a route. Funding for this tunnel is still in the preparatory stage, with a vision for it to be proposed for funding under the Three Seas Initiative.

"Six years would be a realistic period for the construction of several new bridges over the Danube from the date of signing an agreement with Romania for each of them, if there are no lengthy court appeals," the deputy prime minister said. He explained that these are bridges possibly near Oryahovo - Beket, Nikopol - Turnu Magurele, Ruse - Giurgiu and Silistra - Calarasi. The talks with the Romanian side on the second bridge near Ruse, which will be the beginning of the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo highway, are in the most advanced phase, but no pre -investment study has been commissioned on it.

It is time to start designing the Rila expressway, the minister ordered. It is envisaged that the route will be about 170 km long and will be divided into two sections - Gueshevo border checkpoint - Dupnitsa and from Dupnitsa to Thracia highway.