Operational Programme on Transport and Transport Infrastructure 2014-2020

Minister Moskovski: Contracts for BGN 3.2 Billion Plus Signed within OP Transport

28 March 2012
Contracts of the value of over 3.2 billion BGN have been signed so far within OP Transport accounting for almost 84% of the programme budget. Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Ivailo Moskovski said this before the members of the National Assembly Committee on European Affairs and Oversight of the European Funds. The Minister said that payments to project contractors already exceed 989 million BGN or about 25% of the programme budget, which totals around 4 billion BGN.

„Not a single EU member state has been able to absorb 100% of the available EU funding during the first programming period. Bulgaria has all chances to become the first to use up this programme's purse," Minister Moskovski said. He stated that the main objective is to keep the pace of work, so that the amount of the paid funds under the programme comes increasingly closer to the amount of contracted funds.

Ivailo Moskovski told the Committee members that the programme-financed lots 2 and 3 of the Trakiya Motorway and the new stretches of the Sofia Underground will be inaugurated in the summer. "After the completion of these projects, we will all feel the first effect of the programme implementation - alleviation of the summer traffic to the coastal regions and cleaner and faster public transport in the capital," he said.

„Bidding procedures have been held and contracts signed for a larger part of the projects of the indicative list as eight big projects are in the process of implementation," Minister Moskovski said. He specified that the application forms of seven of them have been approved by the European Commission, while the project on the construction of the Strouma Motorway is in the process of evaluation by the Commission.