site.btaLand Expropriation Begins for Struma Motorway Completion after Alleged Delay

Authorities are beginning to expropriate land plots related to the completion of the Struma Motorway, said Regional Development and Public Works Minister Ivan Shishkov at a briefing on Wednesday, emerging from the government's weekly meeting.

Shishkov recalled that the Struma Motorway was declared a project of national importance back in 2013. "Given that the decision was made in 2013 to build the motorway, and to this day we are still expropriating land and approving detailed development plans, I think the answer to the question of where the infrastructure is and who is to blame is clear," he said.

The government will allocate EUR 233,000 for the expropriation of the land, but this is only the beginning. According to Shishkov, the plots are located near the Kresna town bypass and at the start of the section of the Struma Motorway connected to the end of the bypass. "It turned out that the section being built has not been expropriated all the way to the end," Shishkov said.

"The government is beginning to get infrastructure projects back on track. You have seen that construction has been proceeding differently over the past three months, and that is how it will continue," he added.

In July, Shishkov said that the Kresna town bypass was under construction and would ease traffic, but the ultimate solution was to complete the motorway through the Kresna Gorge. According to the minister, administrative procedures and the preparation of project documentation are still under way.