Bulgaria’s Regional Development Ministry to Halve Investments in Infrastructure in 2015

Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova, photo by BGNES

Bulgaria’s Regional Development Ministry plans to halve investment in infrastructure in 2015 to a rate of around BGN 2 B, according to Minister Lilyana Pavlova.

Bulgaria has been spending some BGN 4-5 B on infrastructure over the past five years, according to reports of mediapool.bg.

Pavlova made clear Monday that the key projects for 2015 involved the completion of a total of 120 kilometers of the Struma, Maritsa, and Hemus motorways, as well as the repair of 300 kilometers of republican roads.

She said that the construction of the Plovdivtsi dam was another major project which was to be launched.

Pavlova noted that the livening up of peripheral and poor regions, water sector reform, and safe driving conditions were the top priorities of the Regional Development Ministry for the next four years.

She informed that the Ministry had submitted projects worth over EUR 3 B to the European Commission, seeking funding under the “Juncker” Investment Plan.

She informed that the Bulgarian projects seeking funding under the “Juncker” Investment Plan included a scheme for the retrofitting of residential buildings worth EUR 500 M, with the option of an extra EUR 500 M being injected into it in the long term.

Pavlova said that the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had already expressed willingness to finance the energy efficiency retrofitting project.

Bulgaria’s Regional Development Minister explained that the other projects included the Sofia-Kalotina motorway worth EUR 350 M and the high-speed roads Sofia-Vidin worth EUR 500 M and Veliko Tarnovo-Ruse worth around EUR 300 M.

She also presented a package of projects in the water sector which had been drafted in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Water, adding that it was aimed at solving the problem with water supply and sewerage systems in 40 municipalities.

Pavlova declared that the first schemes under the new operational program Regions in Growth 2014-2020 were expected to be opened in March 2015.

She said that the Regions in Growth operational program was expected to have a budget of EUR 1.54 B.

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