site.btaCreation of State Enterprise for Introducing Toll System Starts

Dobrich, Northeast Bulgaria, August 14 (BTA) - The Road Infrastructure Agency's head, Doncho Atanassov, said here on Monday that the creation of a state enterprise for the introduction of a toll system is starting, which will allow for the national road network's construction and maintenance to be self-financed.

Answering a question about the delayed public procurement for the toll system's introduction, Atanassov said that "this saga" with obstructions and over 20 submitted complaints has continued for a year and a half. "I hope that the toll system will start accumulating funds in 2018-2019, with revenue expected to reach between 800 million and 1 billion leva annually," said he.

According to him, the net revenue from vignette stickers is expected to reach around 320 million leva by this year's end, which is some 20 million leva more than last year. This, however, is insufficient to complete the necessary roadworks, he said, adding that some 6,000 km of the national road network are in very poor condition, while there are roads that have not been repaired in 40 years due to lack of funds. Some 8,000 to 10,000 heavy trucks use Bulgaria's roads every 24 hours and if traffic from the Middle East towards Western Europe is added, which is huge especially in the summer, the financial losses are also huge.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov commented on Saturday that the delay of the establishment of the Bulgarian road toll system due to deliberate appeals costs the public purse daily losses of 1.5 million leva. He added that if the system does not kick off on Monday, the State is ready to start setting it up on its own.