MRDPW has applied to the European Commission for BGN 3.3 billion for road safety
MRDPW has applied to the European Commission for BGN 3.3 billion for road safety
By Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
Eng. Doncho Atanasov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency, received a plaque on the occasion of the 135th anniversary of Agency
Over BGN 662 million have been invested in similar measures since 2007
On the basis of the future debate on the Strategic Road Safety Framework, the European Commission has requested information from all Member States regarding the necessary resources and the actions to be taken by the relevant Member State. On the Infrastructure topic, in the Road Safety section, we submitted measures and activities worth more than BGN 3.3 billion to the Ministry of Interior, which is the coordinator for Bulgaria. Of that amount, BGN 2.6 billion are intended for existing roads and about 730 million are for the motorways planned for construction by 2030.
This was announced by Nikolay Nankov, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, who participated today in the international conference Road Safety: New Technology and Best World and European Practices. The forum is a part of the calendar of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council 2018 and is being held with the support of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
The Minister pointed out to the participants that for a second decade the European Commission has made a determined effort to improve road safety in all segments to reduce road fatalities, pointing out that for many years Bulgaria has been heading the road toll statistics. According to him, our entire society should be involved, the drivers and pedestrians should be educated, etc.
“Over the last 15 years, the State has put huge effort. Since 2007, more than BGN 660 million have been invested in national roads solely to improve the infrastructure related to road safety – restrictions, vertical and horizontal signaling, road surface markings, signs, etc., including in areas with a high rate of traffic accidents,” Nikolay Nankov informed. He added that the Road Infrastructure Agency coordinates with the Ministry of the Interior, whereby the latter provides information on such road sections.
“About 8,000 km of national roads and 12,000 km of municipal roads require urgent overall rehabilitation. We are trying to solve this problem. The palliative approach of the past 30 years, related to filling up road holes, must be brought to an end,” said the Regional Minister categorically. We will move on to a lasting and comprehensive rehabilitation of the roads, he commented, pointing out that this would be done by introducing the toll system, which wouldn’t represent a panacea, yet providing a huge resource. This system is expected to generate three times more revenues, a great part of which will be used to improve road safety in all its aspects. The budget funds, the funds of the municipal administration will also be used to that end, as it became clear from the words of the Minister.
“The third option to implement such measures is through the third Mobility Package, for which the European Commission is launching discussions on the new Strategic Framework for Road Safety in May,” he explained. “More and more people, both in Europe and in Bulgaria, support the establishment of a dedicated instrument - either a fund, a specific program based on the new road safety strategy,” Nikolay Nankov said. He pointed out that this tool will cover the period from 2020 to 2030 and is expected to fund road safety projects. “The global target at the European level for this period is to reduce road fatalities by 50%. We look forward to launching the debate on the topic at the national and the European level,” the Regional Minister said.
