Insufficient Funding for the Construction of the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo Highway
The funds allocated for the financing of the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo highway are not sufficient to complete the entire route, requiring additional money, as stated by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Violeta Korytarova, during parliamentary control on Friday. According to her, additional financial resources could come from the state budget or other funding sources. Calculations by the Road Infrastructure Agency show that the financial assistance applied for under the “Transport Connectivity” program will not be enough. Therefore, the budget forecast for 2025-2027 includes the necessary funds to complete the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo highway as per current estimates.
Both sections of the highway are included in the “Transport Connectivity” program for 2021-2027, with over 300 million BGN earmarked in the 2024 budget. The construction of the highway between Ruse and Veliko Tarnovo began this spring, divided into three lots with a total length of 132 km. The first lot covers Ruse to Byala, the second lot is o…
Construction of Highway Section Near Biala
Work on the highway section near Biala is progressing, with the third section located between Biala and Veliko Tarnovo. Initially, construction began 7.9 kilometers from the lot at the bypass of Biala. The public procurement for the first two sections was initiated as early as 2020, but the contractors were selected only in 2022. The total indicative value of the procurement exceeded 987.2 million BGN without VAT, but during the opening of the price offers from the companies, it became evident that they significantly exceeded this amount.
Even though the two selected consortia submitted the lowest price offers, the total cost for engineering the highway surpassed 1.5 billion BGN, meaning that one kilometer would cost around 20 million BGN. These high prices sparked a dispute during the “Petkov” cabinet. At that time, the regional minister Grozdan Karadzhov was accused by former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov of mishandling the opening of the price offers. Petkov requested an inspection by the State Financial Inspection (SFI), which, however, did not find any violations in the procurement process.
The governmental office declared the highway as a national asset, and in November, the two contracts with the contractors were officially signed. At the beginning of the year, the government paid an advance of 175 million BGN to commence the construction.
Construction Projects in Ruse – Byala Region
In the Ruse – Byala region, there are two major construction projects underway to improve infrastructure and transportation. The first project is being executed by the consortium “Hemus-16320”, with partners such as “Infra Expert” AD, “Motorways – Black Sea” AD, “Road Engineering Construction-T” EAD, and “Transconsult-22” EOOD. This project covers a distance of 40 km and is expected to take more than 5 years and 8 months to complete.
The second project, focusing on the Byala bypass, is led by the consortium “AM Ruse Tarnovo”, in collaboration with “European Roads” AD, “Groma Hold” EOOD, “Water Construction – Blagoevgrad” AD, “Motorways Hemus” AD, and “Road Project 2000” OOD. This bypass project spans 35.4 km and is projected to be completed in approximately 5 years.
