site.btaRegional Development Minister Nankov: Hemus Motorway to Be Completed by Start of 2024

Veliko Tarnovo, North Central Bulgaria, May 28 (BTA) - The Hemus Motorway will be completed by the start of 2024, said here Monday Regional Development and Public Works Minister Nikolai Nankov, adding that this timeframe is not optimistic, but realistic. He took part in a working meeting with representatives of the local authorities, MPs and institutions, which focused on the road infrastructure in North Bulgaria. The meeting was organized by the "24 Chassa" daily newspaper.

Construction of the Motorway's 10-km-long section from Yablanitsa to the Teteven junction has commenced in the past year and is expected to be completed within the next 18 months, Nankov said.

The engineering of the 52-km-long section between the Boaza and Lovech-Pleven junctions is at its final stage. According to the latest estimates, this section will cost 200-300 million leva less than initially planned and is expected to be opened in 2020.

The tender procedure for the 85-km-long section between the Lovech-Pleven and Veliko Tarnovo-Rousse junctions will be launched this August, so that it can be completed in 2021, Nankov explained.

The Minister projected that around 160 km of the Motorway will be completed by the end of 2021.

The phase in the Motorway's construction that is lagging behind the most is the 90-km-long section between the Veliko Tarnovo-Rousse and Buhovtsi junctions. The construction of the 16-km-long section between the Buhovtsi and Belokopitovo junctions will start in around 10 weeks, Nankov noted.

He explained that the reduced deadlines will not impact the quality of construction.

Nankov said that the tender for the construction of the Veliko Tarnovo-Rousse road could start within this year, if the court decision about the environmental impact assessment appeal is in favour of the Road Infrastructure Agency. The 133-km-long road is divided into three sections, will cost a little over a billion leva and must be completed by the middle of 2022, he noted.

The Minister told journalists that he expects roads in need of repair, for which no financing is planned this year, to be repaired with the revenue generated by the road toll system after the middle of next year.

The technical design for repairing three tunnels near Veliko Tarnovo should be completed within 6 weeks and work will start in the fall if there are no appeals, he explained.