Bulgaria and EU share road funding

The Bulgarian government has promised almost €380 million to fund the construction of a 23.6km section of the Struma motorway, between Kresna and Krupnik in the southwest of the country.

The motorway, which will stretch to 173km when completed, is also being partly funded by the European Union (EU), as part of its Transport Infrastructure strategy for 2014 – 2020, and will ultimately become part of the pan-European transport Corridor IV.

The EU’s funding agreement stipulates that the road’s construction must be completed by 2023; with this in mind, the project was divided into two lots.

In August 2018, tenders for the two lots (one valued at approximately €227 million; the other at approximately €220 million) were opened by the country’s Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA).

In a statement, the government said some of its funding would also go towards the rehabilitation of 18km of the existing E79, which will become part of the motorway, connecting the capital Sofia, with Kulata, which sits on the Greek border.

The RIA said 22 offers had been received overall, but the winners have yet to be announced.