Bulgaria's Borisov Govt Pays in Full Water Mirror Project

Prime Minister, Sergey Stanishev, of the former three-way coalition government is seen at the Water Mirror site in Kardzhali. Photo by BGNES

The cabinet of Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, has paid in full for the controversial Vodno Ogledalo (Water Mirror) project in the southern city of Kardzhali.

The government has granted BGN 5 441 254 to the Regional Ministry, the government's press center informs Thursday.

The amount will be used to pay penalties for the delay in the project. The late fee was reduced by 15% after negotiations between the cabinet and the contractor for the project.

"Water Mirror" is a water system project in the city of Kardzhali which was started by the former three-way coalition government without paying in full for the construction. Since taking over in 2009, Borisov has criticized the project on numerous occasions, stating it is too expensive and that State budget money should have been used for better purposes.

In February 2012, the Council of Ministers provided BGN 23 918 010 in payments for the 2007 – 2009 period, by which it reduced the losses in late fees for the State budget.

Regional Minister, Lilyana Pavlova, and Deputy PM and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov were assigned to negotiate the reduction of the late fee.

The project now costs a total of BGN 80 M. The sum has grown by over BGN 50 M since 2009 due to payment delays.

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