site.btaPart of Operational Programme Transport Project Activities to Be Financed by State Budget - Minister

Part of Operational Programme Transport
Project Activities to Be Financed by State Budget -
Minister


Sofia, September 24 (BTA) - Implementation of part of the activities for some projects under Operational Programme Transport 2007-2013 will continue after 2015, and they will have to be financed by the State budget on which vigorous talks are being held with the Finance Ministry, Bulgarian Transport, Information Technology and Communications Minister Ivaylo Moskovski said here on Thursday at the annual presentation of the results achieved by the Operational Programme.

Moskovski admitted that the projects are at a risk of running out of financing for their completion after 2015. "We are exploring various options, including borrowing, which will probably burden beneficiaries. I hope, however, that the State budget will reasonably assist the completion of the projects," he stressed. The Transport Minister said that more than 1,600 million euro have been paid to beneficiaries so far, which is more than 80 per cent of the programme. "We can regard this as a major success for this country. "We will work hard in the coming months to catch up as far as possible," he assured his audience.

The Minister said that out of 22 investment projects financed under Operational Programme Transport, ten have been fully completed. Strouma Motorway Lot 2 and Maritsa Motorway Lot 1 will be finished at the end of October. No effort is spared for the completion of the Purvomay-Svilengrad, Plovdiv-Bourgas and Septemvri-Plovdiv railway projects, Moskovski said. Four large infrastructure projects were commissioned in 2015: the extension of Sofia's metro to the Airport, the two coastal centres in Varna and Bourgas, and the BulRIS Project, which made Bulgaria the first Danube country to set up a fully operational centre for control of the entire ship traffic on the river, as well as a project for the improvement of Danube navigation and hydrographic measurements on the River Danube.

Moskovski pointed out that formidable challenges and serious difficulties filled the programming period. The projects were extremely difficult to launch because of their inadequate preparation, but all this, as well as the political shifts, did not interfere with the fine progress of the Programme. "Compared to other Member States, we have achieved a good percentage of attainment of the objectives set," the Transport Minister said. PK/LG

/СН/