Rosen Plevneliev: 3 100 km of the roads will be renovated during this year

The Minister of Regional development and Public works announced on a press conference that the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) have prepared a major programme for the rehabilitation of the road system I, II and III class. The rehabilitation is under various programmes.

During the following months a parallel execution of 76 projects for 3100km, part of the national road network are to be started. The repair works on all the sites will be finalized  by the end of 2012, explained Minister Plevneliev.

According to the presented statistics by the Minister, the roads’ condition of first, second and third class has been worsening since 1984 until now. The data shows that 35-36% of them are in poor condition, 25-26% are within the limits of an average condition, and 42% are in good condition. There are some sections, which have not been repaired for a long time. One of them is the segment between Batak-Dospat where no repairs have been made since 1971.

The resources invested in the repair works have been low so far, compared to the grim conditions of the road network. 171 million leva are invested in the road infrastructure rehabilitation durin 2001. In 2002, the sum is estimated on 102 million leva. In 2003 and 2004 there were 67 million and 54 million leva, and 79 million leva were given in 2007. Out of 200 million leva that had been invested for repairs in 2010.  In 2011, the sum became 550 million leva, which is three times and a half more, explained Minister Plevneliev. 770 km of the road network had been repaired in 2007, as the sums mentioned above were used. During 2008- 770 km, in 2009- 555km, and in 2011- 500 km.

“If we take into consideration the new construction, the Road Infrastructure Agency has to spend 1, 1 bln. leva for the roads in Bulgaria, while the at its maximum this programme has had investments, out of the one with current construction, between 200 and 350 million leva from 2001 to 2009”, said the Minister.

The execution of 15 segments of the first stage of the OP”Regional development” is about to finish. The primary phase if the work on the second stage of the programme. While carrying out the tender procedures on these sites there has been 192 million leva savings, which will be used to begin 22 segments more, announced the Minister. The segments are mostly in the Northern part of Bulgaria in view of the fact that ready projects have already been made, and some of them are border checkpoints, he added.

Eng. Lazar Lazarov, who is a member of the Board of managers to the RIA, specified that the construction of Hemus motorway, the segment between Shumen and Belkopitovo, is about to begin. The motorway’s completion will lead to faster redirection of the traffic from the first class roads to Ruse and Turgovishte in the highway’s section to Varna. A large number of the projects, which are realized through state investment loans from the EIB and the World Bank, are currently under construction. In addition, various sites will be financed via the state budget, for example the road from Yambol to Elhovo that is in poor condition. It can not be financed under the Operational Programme thus it will be implemented with state resources.

Two segments out of the motorways are being fulfilled under the OP”Transport”. Those are the stretches between Kurdjali and Podkova at the Sofia ring road.

The repair programme of the road Infrastructure Agency is consistent with the summer’s season traffic. The segments, included in it, are out of the main transit in-and-out traffic, announced Lazar Lazarov.