Architect Ivan Shishkov: Thanks to the joint efforts of the state institutions and the builder, we have launched 6.4 km of the Europe Motorway
Architect Ivan Shishkov: Thanks to the joint efforts of the state institutions and the builder, we have launch
By Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
“Today we are pleased to put into traffic 6.4 km of the Europe Motorway, namely the section from Dragoman to the border checkpoint Kalotina. This was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of all institutions in the state and the builder. We did our best to fulfil our promise to launch the section before the holidays to ease the traffic”. This was said at the opening ceremony by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works architect Ivan Shishkov. The event was attended by the Prime Minister Galab Donev, the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to our country Dr. Željko Jović, the representative of the builder Strabag and project manager Svetislav Bajić, as well as Engineer Ventsislav Angelov, Chairperson of the Management Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency.
In his speech, architect Shishkov pointed out that in recent months the caretaker cabinet has been actively working on its strategy for the development of infrastructure sites. He recalled that for the last section of the Europe Motorway - from Slivnitsa to the Northern Expressway of Sofia, the caretaker cabinet approved the detailed spatial plan and is currently completing land expropriation procedures. “In 20-25 days, construction will start there as well,” the regional minister said. It is expected that the entire highway from Sofia to the border checkpoint “Kalotina” will be completed by the end of next year, so that EU funds for its construction will not be lost.
Architect Shishkov presented the Prime Minister with the Certificate of Occupancy for the newly opened site and assured him that it has been inspected and executed as required by law.
Prime Minister Galab Donev highlighted the efforts of the caretaker government to make up for the lost time in the construction of the section of this key artery, which connects not only Bulgaria with Serbia, but also represents the most direct route from Asia to Central and Western Europe. According to Prime Minister Donev, by the end of May, the entire section from the border checkpoint Kalotina to Dragoman will be completed, and the entire Europe highway could be finished by the end of next year. “In this way, we are not only saving European funding, but also keeping a clear account of the national resources spent on the construction of this road,” the prime minister noted. Donev pointed out that the caretaker cabinet continues to work with the necessary pace and professionalism so that not only the “Europe” highway comes into operation in accordance with the law, but all roads in Bulgaria are built and put into operation as the law requires.
In his address to the audience Ambassador Jović said that today a small but important section of the Europe Motorway is being opened. “This highway connects the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Serbia, but I hope that it will further connect the Serbian and Bulgarian people, strengthen the ties between ordinary people, including Serbian citizens of Bulgarian origin and Bulgaria. I hope that from today this motorway will help to strengthen and further work on our bilateral relations in all areas,” Ambassador Jović said.
Guests of the event were Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Nikolay Shushkov, Andrey Ivanov - Mayor of Dragoman and Engineer Desislava Paunova, member of the Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency.
The I-8 road is part of the main trans-European transport network. The route is London - Budapest - Belgrade - Sofia - Plovdiv - Istanbul - Kolkata and is the shortest road connecting Western Europe with the Middle East. The border checkpoint Kalotina - Sofia section provides a link to the trans-European corridor “Orient/East Mediterranean”.
The construction of the section will reduce travel time and provide comfortable and safe traffic conditions.
The contractor of the project is the “STRABAG BPA” Company under the Obligations and Contracts Act, which includes Strabag EAD, “Strabag Sp. z o.o. (Poland)” and Bitumina GmbH - Bulgaria EOOD, and the contract value is 164 990 259,94 BGN including VAT. The construction supervision is carried out by the Company under the Obligations and Contracts Act “NADZOR KALOTINA - SOP”, with participants Transconsult - BG LTD and Patinvestengineering JSC. Their contract is worth BGN 3 708 600 including VAT. The project “Modernization of I-8 road “Kalotina - Sofia Ring Road” from km 1+000 to km 15+500 and stage connection” is co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union and the national budget.
