Bulgaria Allowed to Finish 3rd Metro Line, Sofia Ring Road with EU Money

EU Commissioner for Development Corina Cretu has approved the vast part of the EUR 368 M in EU funding earmarked for the third metro line of Sofia, the Commission says.

The project will link northeastern and southwestern districts of Sofia with a connection to other remote neighborhoods. The investment also covers the supply of the necessary rolling stock, which includes 20 metro trains.

Metro construction in Bulgaria "shows the tangible and positive impact of [European Structural and Investment] funds in Bulgaria," Cretu said, according to the EU Commission's website.

However, the national radio quotes Cretu's spokesperson Jakub Adamowicz as saying that the respective sums will remain locked unless Sofia sticks to a number of financial conditions for the projects which the Commission has to inspect by December 31.

EU funding had been included in Bulgarian authorities' estimates on the cost of the project.

The European Commission has given Bulgaria the green light to complete the construction of the Sofia Ring Road using EU founding despite delayed absorption last year.

Some EUR 37.7 M will be used from the new budget period (2014-2020), even though the funds were initially allocated under the 2007-2013 framework, the Bulgarian National Radio reports.

A portion of the funding will be used for the Sofia Northern Speed Tangent, helping reduce part of the traffic on the Sofia Ring Road that connects the road with major motorways and eases access of remote northern districts to the city center.

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