Minister Nikolay Nankov: In a year we have launched road projects for over BGN 1.4 billion

Minister Nikolay Nankov: In a year we have launched road projects for over BGN 1.4 billion

03 May 2018 | 15:00

Bulgaria is constructing the cheapest motorways in Europe, the regional minister said

In a year we have launched road projects for over BGN 1.4 billion. This was stated by Nikolay Nankov, the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, during a hearing in the National Assembly on the progress of the priority road projects. He took into account that the construction sector was one of the drivers for Gross Domestic Product growth, which reached almost BGN 100 billion last year.

“Indeed, Bulgaria looks like an open construction site where motorways are being constructed, where roads, bridge structures, tunnels, etc. are being renovated,” said Minister Nankov. He stressed as well that all public procurement contracts of the Road Infrastructure Agency are public, transparent and compliant with regulations, in line with best practices ensuring competition among the participants. In his opinion, there is no better regulator than the businesses in this respect and cited as an example the new public contract for the selection of contractor for the Zheleznitsa tunnel of Struma Motorway, for which 28 bids have been submitted. “None of the businesses would waste time and energy spending money on documentation if they thought the tender was pre-arranged and they wouldn’t be selected as the contractor. The large number of participants shows that everything is transparent and the criteria are neither discriminatory, nor restrictive,” Nankov said. He gave another example - the number of appeals of procedures on behalf of companies is extremely small, which proves once more that the committees’ work and the procedures are impeccable.

The most important project, which the government has been working on since the very first day of office as a top priority, is Hemus Motorway. Currently, 9.3 km between Yablanitsa and the Teteven branch are under construction and within two months the real construction of nearly 16.3 km from the east between Belokopitovo and road connection Buhovo will be started, building over 25 km of the northern motorway. These two sections are expected to be completed within a year and a half. Separately, another 52 km are being redesigned between the Teteven branch and the crossing of the main road to Lovech and Pleven. By the end of this year, a procedure will take place to select a contractor for this section. Minister Nankov reminded that the redesign of the section would save BGN 350 million due to the elimination of tunnels and facilities difficult to operate and maintain. At the same time, there is a parcel plan for another 85 km from the branch for Lovech and Pleven to the future Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo motorway, north of the old capital, for which a procedure to select a contractor might be opened by the end of the year. “By the end of this year, we have undertaken the construction of 77 km of Hemus Motorway and a procedure to select a contractor for another 85 km. The tenders and construction of the remaining 90 km to Varna from Veliko Tarnovo to Buhovtsi will take place next year. With this schedule and provided that there is a very good organization, it’s quite realistic that Hemus Motorway might be fully-built by 2024, the regional minister said. He reported that last year, a major overhaul of the pipelines of Echemishka and Vitinya tunnels in the direction of Varna was carried out, which haven’t been repaired since they were built 35 years ago. This year, the pipelines in the direction of Sofia will also be renovated, after which two of the four tunnels will become absolutely modern.

As for Struma Motorway, Minister Nankov reported that by the end of this year, 24 km will be built, 8 months ahead of schedule. Separately, a 7-kilometer section from Blagoevgrad to Zheleznitsa is under construction. “The construction works are going very well, but we have discontinued them in the area of ​​archaeological finds near the village of Pokrovnik. We will wait for the experts’ opinion and as ever before we will comply with both the ecological and the archeological requirements, because we don’t prioritize speed construction of motorways over these two aspects, said Nankov emphatically. He considered the public reports for alleged construction on the site of the archaeological finds a speculation and explained that conservation was taking place. As for the most difficult section of the southwestern motorway - in the Kresna Gorge – Minister Nankov explained that a procedure for the selection of a contractor will only be opened after a favorable judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court, before which the EIA of the selected route has been appealed. This will be the most expensive motorway section with an indicative budget of BGN 800 million due to the rough terrain and the presence of large facilities such as tunnels and the highest bridges in Bulgaria. The motorway should be entirely ready by 2023. The Minister also said that within two or three months, the construction of the Zheleznitsa tunnel would begin.

Nikolay Nankov added that the government had also started work on the construction of the speed road between Vidin and Botevgrad. A public procurement contract has been launched for the construction of the most difficult section between Botevgrad and Mezdra, with a length of 33 km. The Minister informed that feasibility studies for a tunnel under Petrohan would also be launched later this month. The Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo motorway was also undergoing works. However, works were currently suspended as a result of a complaint, but the parcel plans were being prepared and works would restart after the court passed a judgment. The projects being implemented include Sofia-Kalotina motorway and the completion of the Sofia Southern Bypass.

“We are not just building motorways and rehabilitating roads; we are filling holes in roads that haven’t been maintained for 30 or 40 years. We do the job and fix mistakes of politicians, who now claim to govern,” Nankov said.

In front of the members of the Parliament, the Minister also commented on the fact that Bulgaria was building the cheapest, and not the most expensive motorway in Europe. According to Eurostat data, in our country a motorway kilometer cost an average of EUR 3.1 million. In Romania, the cost was EUR 6.5 million, in Greece – EUR 10.28 million per km, in Slovakia - 13, 7 million. In Serbia and Macedonia, that’s EUR 5.5 million. The Minister was convinced that such low price was not at the expense of quality and this fact was evidenced by the European Commission’s recognition that Trakia motorway was among the best examples in the entire EU of a project implemented with European funds. “The most expensive motorway in Bulgaria is Lyulin, but the contract was awarded in 2006 at a cost of EUR 8.1 million per km,” Nankov reminded. And added that this price excluded the fortification of a landslide, which still caused trouble. “We have other examples of 2005 and 2006 sites for sections that can’t currently be called motorways and we are repairing them,” he added.

The regional minister also said that from 1 January 2019, the e-Vignette for cars would be introduced. The price would remain the same. And from the middle of next year, the toll system for trucks would also be launched. These two systems are expected to generate revenue of more than BGN 1.2 billion per year, which will ensure more funds for road repair. The calculations show that this way all 8,000 km of national roads in poor condition would be repaired in 6 years. The total length of the national road network is nearly 20,000 km. After the introduction of the toll system, another BGN 50 million are envisaged for the repair of municipal roads.

“The lack of funding for roads has been an issue for 30 years and we are now solving it,” said Nankov. Regarding the introduction of the toll system, the Minister added that the Road Infrastructure Agency was currently building the unit that will manage and control it, as well as the software that will be used for anti-smuggling and combatting human trafficking purposes. The World Bank will develop a fair model for charging. This model is expected to be ready for public discussion by the beginning of August. Minister Nankov commented that the system will cover 16,000 km of roads, but will only be paid for roads in good condition. Initially, the range will cover approximately 50-60% of the roads.

Minister Nankov also said that for the improvement of the quality of newly constructed and renovated roads, work is under way to change the warranty periods in order to extend them. The public contracts would also provide for longer warrantee periods. “At the moment, the warranty periods for motorways are 5 years and 10 years for facilities such as bridges and tunnels. The warranty for ongoing repairs is 1 year. These periods are definitely too short and we’re working on their extension,” Nankov said. He told journalists that according to him the warranty period for a new motorway should be 10 years and 13 years for bridge facilities. These proposals are to be discussed with branch organizations and will also be subject of public discussion.