site.btaVignette or Toll Charges Will Be Due on 17,000 km of Bulgaria's Major Roads

Vignette or Toll Charges Will Be Due on 17,000 km of Bulgaria's Major Roads

Sofia, March 29 (BTA) - Vignette or toll charges will be due on 17,000 km of national and international roads in Bulgaria, Regional Development and Public Works Minister Liliyana Pavlova told a conference on Tuesday. No such charges will be required on the remaining 3,000 km of national roads which do not carry transit traffic and are the only way to get to a particular location, Pavlova added.

She said that before the recent increase in vignette prices, the annual proceeds from vignette sales amounted to some 200 million leva, and now they are expected to reach between 250 million and 260 million leva. With the introduction of a new, mixed system that includes toll charges, the proceeds will at least double or triple in the first few years and can increase even more later on, she said.

Discussing the introduction of the mixed vignette-and-toll system, Pavlova expressed hope that a public procurement procedure will be launched in the coming weeks to develop computer software and hardware for the toll segment of the system. She explained that a toll charge will be required for vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes, based on the distance travelled. For smaller vehicles, drivers will have to buy vignettes, and this segment of the system will be electronic. An electronic vignette will be effective for a year. Truck drivers will not have to buy a special on-board device for the purposes of the toll system. Those who are transiting the country can buy route maps online or at the national border, at filling stations or other places.

The maintenance of minor roads will continue this year, the minister said. Using money from the increase in vignette prices, the government will finance road repairs in particular areas, mainly in Northwestern and Northern Bulgaria.

Pavlova expects that 2016 will not be an easy year due to the transition between two multiannual programming periods, which means that construction activity will not be as vigorous as it was in 2015. "Twenty-sixteen will be a year of recharging," she said.