Minister Nankov: With a functioning toll system, within 6 or 7 years we will be ready with the complete rehabilitation of the national road network

In 2018, the construction of another 25 km of the Hemus Motorway starts

“Within 6 or 7 years we will be ready with the complete rehabilitation of the national road network,” said Nikolay Nankov, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, in bTV This Morning show. He explained that due to the regular lack of funding in the sector, 8,000 km of the 20,000 km of the national road network are in a bad or very bad state. Currently, 400-450 km are being rehabilitated each year. The introduction of the toll system and the expected revenues of about BGN 1 billion per year will ensure funding for 3-4 times more kilometers of the national roads. So, within 6 or 7 years we will be ready with the complete rehabilitation of the national road network,” the Minister explained.

At present, for repairs of national roads BGN 40-50 million are spent every year and the same amount is spent for the maintenance of municipal roads. That is, almost BGN 100 million per year. “But these are palliative and short-term repairs,” the Minister explained. “That’s why the government’s policy is aimed at the complete rehabilitation of the national road network, so that we stop discussing holes and asphalting every year,” he added.

“It is for a fact that the State didn’t have enough financial resources so far, so we are looking for a general solution to the issue,” the Minister added. On the one hand, this will be achieved through revenue from the toll system, expected to generate revenue as early as 2019. Secondly, by budget funding. Thirdly, the European Commission sets up a specific road safety instrument for 2020-2030.

“The state of the pavement, the markings, the roadside barriers, the signaling and other elements are all part of road safety,” Minister Nankov said. According to estimates of the Road Infrastructure Agency, about BGN 3 billion are required for the safety of national roads. “This data has been submitted to the Ministry of Interior, they will summarize it and submit it to the European Commission,” Nankov explained. In May, there will be a discussion on road safety, for which the EC is preparing a Strategic Framework for Road Safety for 2020-2030.

“This year, the effective construction of 25 km of Hemus Motorway will begin. Next Tuesday, we start the construction of 9.3 km from Yablanitsa to road connection Boaza and it is expected to be completed ahead of schedule, within a year and a half. The construction of another 16 km of the motorway between road connection Belokopitovo and road connection Buhovtsi will start in 2 months. With the new version of the project for another 52 km from Hemus to the Pleven-Lovech branch, BGN 350 million will be saved to the State budget, as the three tunnels and 17 other engineering facilities originally planned have been excluded. The estimated driving speed for the motorway in this section is 130 km/h. For these 52 km, we will proceed to the selection of a contractor later this year and if there are no appeals to the tender procedures and weather permitting, we will start the construction in the last quarter of the year,” the Minister explained. Another 85 km will be designed this year and construction will begin in the second half of 2019.

“Today is the deadline of the Public Procurement Agency for the approval of the project documentation and, in line with our commitment, we open the tender procedure for the section from Mezdra to Botevgrad on the road from Vidin,” Nikolay Nankov said. These 34 km will be rehabilitated and expanded with two additional lanes.

In 2018, the extension of the road between Plovdiv and Asenovgrad will be completed ahead of schedule. The route will have the size of a motorway. The activities are funded under Operational Program Regions in Growth. A total of 27 road sections in the country will be rehabilitated under the program. These include the road from Vratsa to Ledenika cave, between Kubrat and Tutrakan, Razgrad and Targovishte, etc. “This year, the repair of the motorway tunnels and bridge facilities will continue,” the Minister said.