EC Slates EUR 250 M for Sofia Metro

Business | February 22, 2011, Tuesday // 14:41|  views

The forecast is that the Sofia metro will have 400 000 passengers a day in 2012. File photo

The European Commission is slating funds from the EU operational program Transport in the amount of EUR 250 M for the metro construction in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

The contract was signed Tuesday between the Deputy Transport Minister, Ivaylo Moskovski and the Head of the municipal company "Metropolitan," Stoyan Bratoev.

The funds will be used for the construction of the so-called stage II which includes a segment of the second subway line – from the Obelya district to the Nadezhda junction and the extension of the first line from the Mladost 1 district to the Mladost 3 district and to Tsarigradsko Shose boulevard.

The money will also allow the construction of 4 metro stations in the first segment plus a parking lot under the "Lomsko Shose" boulevard and 2 metro stations in the second one with a large parking lot under Tsarigradsko Shose, along with the purchase of 18 new subway trains.

The Sofia City Hall also has a loan of EUR 105 M from the European Investment Bank for the metro construction.

The Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova, promised repair works on Lomsko Shose and on the Cherni Vrah boulevard – from Bulgaria boulevard to James Baucher boulevard will end in September, 2011. The construction of the second line and the extension of the first one should be completed in the second half of 2012.

The City Hall is looking to secure financing of two more extensions - from Mladost 1 to the Business Park in Mladost 4 and from Tsarigradsko Shose to the airport, hoping to obtain EU financing for them as well.

Moskovski says the funds are pending final EC approval, but the project has passed the preliminary phase and the money should be received in several months.

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Tags: Yordanka Fandakova, Sofia metro, subway, traffic, parking lot, Ivaylo Moskovski, Metropolitain, Stoyan Bratoev, EC, funds, European Investment Bank, metro construction, subway line

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