site.btaRegional Development Minister Meets Mayors, Reports Signing 442 Agreements with 115 Municipalities for Infrastructure Projects

Regional Development Minister Andrei Tsekov Tuesday met mayors and reported to them that he had signed to date 442 agreements with 115 municipalities for municipal infrastructure projects, including design, construction, repair and reconstruction works, Tsekov's Ministry said. The said projects are worth BGN 971 million, which will be paid and used in tranches until the end of 2026. 

Attending the meeting were the mayors of Svishtov, Bansko, Lukovit, Medkovets, Sandanski, Lom, Haskovo, Slivnitsa, Kostinbrod, Georgi Damyanovo and Slivnitsa, who received their agreements for the funding of municipal projects. 

"It will be good to have this money going into the municipalities every year so that the patching-up ends and people's lives can change," the Minister said.

Once a municipality gets its agreement, it can apply for a 20% upfront payment after which the funding will follow the stages of project implementation. "Practically, we will pay 90% of the funding when 50% of the work is reported, with the remainder due when the entire project is reported completed. This will allow municipalities to work without having to worry about the financing," said the Minister.

The mayors commended the programme for funding of municipal projects and said it is among the best in recent years. Also, it is the first time such a programme starts with the commencement of the construction season rather than as before - in autumn and winter, when it is much harder to work, the mayors said.

Minister Tsekov noted that the activities to be implemented with funding from the investment programme for municipal projects will improve the living conditions of local people and will help attract more investors. "We are talking about projects that citizens have been waiting for for years: streets, water mains, improvement of settlements," the Minister said.  

The Finance Ministry has said that the national budget for 2024 has sufficient funds to pay for the municipal projects. 

At the end of last week, as he reported his Ministry's work over the past nine months, the Regional Development Minister said that over 400 agreements with municipalities would be signed within the next week.