site.bta Lv 401 Mln Out of Sofia's Lv 1,265 Mln Budget Earmarked for Investments, Deputy Mayor Says in BTA Interview

Lv 401 Mln Out of Sofia's Lv 1,265 Mln Budget Earmarked for Investments, Deputy Mayor Says in BTA Interview

Sofia, May 20 (BTA) - "The total budget framework of Sofia Municipality for 2017 is 1,265 million leva, of which 401 million are earmarked for investments," the city's Deputy Mayor for Investments, Doncho Barbalov, said in a BTA interview.

A substantial part of the investments is intended for environment-friendly urban transport. More than 200 million will go into the construction of the third line of the Sofia Metro. Thirty new pollution-free buses have been purchased, and a bidding procedure for 13 new trams is expected to be announced. Some 10 per cent of Sofia's tramway tracks will be reconstructed this year, Barbalov said.

EU-funded operational programmes are expected to contribute 275 million leva, up from 195 million leva for 2016. The principal beneficiary is the underground railway construction project, which is co-financed by the EU (223.5 million leva) and City Hall (20 million leva), the Deputy Mayor explained.

Of a total of 34 million leva budgeted for culture, 7.9 million leva are for State-delegated activities.

Half a million leva (100,000 leva more than in 2016) will be spent on preparing Sofia for a European Capital of Sport in 2018, Barbalov pointed out. The idea of the initiative is to promote an active lifestyle, the development of sport policies and good facilities infrastructure, programmes and activities, with a focus on grassroots sport and the importance of sport as a priority in people's lives.

City Hall does not plan to contract new loans this year, the Deputy Mayor said.

He assessed last year's budget performance as very good. The revenue target was met 97 per cent (100 per cent for taxes and 94 per cent for fees). A new tax on taxi transport was introduced during the year, and its compliance rate is expected to approximate 100 per cent.

Among other things, the local authority prioritizes the refurbishment of the buildings housing diagnostic consultative centres and medical centres and the purchase of state-of-the-art medical apparatus.