The work on rehabilitation of road sections under the programme Transit Roads 3 has started this week, the Chief Secretary of the Road Executive Agency Milosh Potskov announced at a briefing

The work on rehabilitation of road sections under the programme Transit Roads 3 has started this week, the Chief Secretary of the Road Executive Agency Milosh Potskov announced at a briefing. Transit Roads 3 is co-financed under ISPA and by the state budget and envisages rehabilitation of roads in the direction of the Pan-European Transport Corridors № ІV, VІІІ and ІX at the total length of 245 km. The total amount of the approved co-financing is 40 mil. euro, as 30 mil. еurо (75%) are provided under ISPA and 10 mil. еurо (25%) - by the state budget. Construction contractors and independent construction supervisors were selected after tender procedures, added Mr. Potskov. After an open international tender, on 30.10.2003 four construction contracts were signed at the total amount of 31 322 129 еurо. The road sections included in the programme fall into four lots. Lot № 3 includes improvement of the operational conditions of the first-class Road I–5 in the section Kazanlak – Stara Zagora, including the bypass road of Stara Zagora, at the total length of 65 km. A contract for the execution of the construction works has been concluded with the Bulgarian consortium VIA SEVT at the total amount of 11 827 795 еurо. Lot № 4 includes sections from the constructed Hemus Motorway at the total length of 38,80 km /reduced to 7,5 m/. A contract for the rehabilitation of the sections has been concluded with the Austrian company SHTRABAG at the total amount of 3 610 568 еurо. Lot № 8 includes sections from the first-class Road I–6 Sliven – Burgas at the total length of 66,5 km. A contract has been concluded with the Bulgarian consortium PANVIA at the total amount of 6 139 283 еurо. Lot № 9 includes sections from the first-class Road I-1 Vidin-Montana, 73,4 km in length, and a contract for the execution of the construction works has been concluded with the Austrian company SHTRABAG at the total amount of 9 744 482 еurо. The supervision during the construction period will be carried out by an independent consultant company, with the financial participation of the Road Executive Agency /REA/. Following an international tender procedure, on 19.11.2003 a contract was signed with the international consortium Hill International/ADO at the total amount of 1 438 600 еurо. The period for execution of the construction works for the four lots is 18 months, afterwards there is a 12-month warranty period, clarified Milosh Potskov. With reference to the other project funded under ISPA, for which the REA is responsible – for Ljulin Motorway, the technical project has been finished, the tender dossier has been prepared and submitted for approval to the EC Delegation for Bulgaria. A tender for construction is due to be announced in July, said Milosh Potskov. The project is at the total amount of 148,45 mil. euro, including 111,338 mil. euro /75%/ grant under ISPA and 37, 112 mil. euro /25%/ co-financing on Bulgarian part. The route of Ljulin Motorway is about 19 km in project length in the direction of Pan-European Transport Corridor № IV in its part Vidin – Sofia – Kulata: Sofia Ring Road – Malo Buchino – Goliamo Buchino – road junction Daskalovo. It has to be considered that big infrastructural projects are implemented under ISPA, at the total amount of over 5 mil. euro and those euro cannot be absorbed within several months, announced the Director of the Implementing Agency ISPA Directorate, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Mrs. Yordanka Stoyanova. She underlined that the period for carrying out feasibility, geological and hydro-geological studies and drawing up a report for Environmental Impact Assessment is very long. The project for construction of wastewater treatment plants in Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad is funded by 32 549 766 еurо under the EU ISPA Programme, 4 340 000 еurо by the republican budget and 6 509 953 euro by the European Investment Bank /EIB/. The Financial Memorandum for construction of the two wastewater treatment plants /WWTP/ was signed in 2000. The construction of WWTP Haskovo was funded totally by the EIB, and the loan contract was signed in 1999. One of the major causes for the delay was that in the period 1999 – 2001the tender dossier for construction and supervision was not prepared for any of the wastewater treatment plants. The tender for WWTP construction in Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad was announced for the first time in July 2002 as the deadline for submission of bids had been 7 October 2002. Two consecutive evaluations of tender bids were made in the period November 2002 – February 2003, the evaluation report was approved by the EC Delegation in April 2003 and negotiations were held in May 2003. The tender procedure for WWTP construction in Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad was cancelled on 10 July 2003 following the pressing recommendation of the EC Delegation for Bulgaria because of violation of the principle of confidentiality during the evaluation of the bids (October – December 2002) and because of discrepancy between the tender documentation and the European requirements for vulnerable zones. The updating of the tender dossier for construction of those two was carried out in the period July – November 2003. The tender dossier for WWTP construction in Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad was approved by the EC Delegation on 13 January 2004, and the announcement for an open international tender was published on 28 January 2004. The deadline for submission of bids for the two wastewater treatment plants is 3 May, and on 4 May 2004 the bids will be opened publicly in the presence of the companies which have filed in documents, announced Yordanka Stoyanova. She specified that there is a very strong interest for this tender and at the beginning of April representatives of 28 foreign and domestic companies visited the construction sites of the two wastewater treatment plants. On 27 May 2003 the contracts for supervision of the WWTP in Stara Zagora and Dimitrovgrad were concluded, at the total amount of 1,8 mil. euro. With regard to the tender for WWTP in Haskovo, the pre-qualification is over and six consortia, which have been approved for the short list, are invited to submit bids for participation in the tender until 30 May 2004. I hope that by September this year we will have concluded contracts for the three wastewater treatment plants, said Yordanka Stoyanova. Photo: Yordanka Stoyanova, Director of the Implementing Agency ISPA Directorate, MRDPW, and Mr. Milosh Potskov, the Chief Secretary of the Road Executive Agency PR & International Relations Directorate