site.btaInvestment Programme for Underdeveloped Areas Is Major Government Priority

Investment Programme for Underdeveloped Areas Is Major Government Priority

Sofia, December 9 (BTA) - The Regional Policy Council with the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works met on December 8 to discuss the draft of a targeted investment programme to support the development of Northwestern Bulgaria, the areas of the Rhodope Mountains, Mt Strandja and Mt Sakar and other underdeveloped places in mountainous, semi-mountainous and border areas, the ministry reported.

Drawn up in less than a year, the programme serves one of the main development goals of the government in the period from 2014 to 2018: the goal of overcoming the economic backwardness of individual regions, Regional Development and Public Works Minister Liliyana Pavlova said.

For now, the programme covers 149 municipalities which are home to 30 per cent of Bulgaria's population. For the first time, it gives a clear definition of mountainous and semi-mountainous areas, their scope and characteristics.

According to Pavlova, it is important to use an integrated approach and to have clear priorities while implementing the programme. "In many areas the people want mainly to have roads built. But building just one road will not automatically improve the economic condition of a region or municipality. It is therefore necessary to combine the measures," Pavlova said. She added that in order to encourage people to settle in a given area, it is essential to provide decent public services, proper healthcare and education, which calls for the combination of various measures.

Most regions are unprepared to implement the measures in the programme, Pavlova noted. At the same time, the proposals total 8 billion leva. "Public money will only be made available if the projects are supported by sound reasoning. Precedence will be given to those projects which will have the fastest effect," she said.