site.bta Pustrogor Migrant Centre to Be Converted into Closed Camp

Pustrogor Migrant Centre to Be Converted into Closed Camp

Sofia, December 1 (BTA) - The State Agency for Refugees (SAR) will use 1.15 million euro in funding to convert the Pustrogor migrant centre at the Bulgarian-Turkish border into a closed camp, the SAR's Angel Tanev said at a migration conference on Thursday.

Tanev said recruiting interpreters, security guards and medical staff is a challenge for his agency. It will cost 800,000 euro to build a container-home camp in Harmanli and another 50,000 euro is needed to repair the damage inflicted by a November 24 riot at the Harmanli migrant centre, he estimated.

Deputy Interior Minister Filip Gounev said a large part of the border may be reinforced with a surveillance system. This will make the work of the police much more effective, he noted.

The outgoing government will assign projects, then the relevant contracts will be concluded by the future caretaker government, and the projects will be implemented under the regular government which will come after that, Gounev said. The big risk is that some contracts can be challenged in court, which sometimes entails loss of money, he warned.

Some of the urgent migration control measures involve renovating the motor vehicle fleet and the TETRA system, Gounev said.

/СН/