site.btaTwo of Three Road Infrastructure Agency Board Members Replaced

Regional Development Minister Andrei Tsekov replaced part of the leadership of the Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) on Thursday, two days after the new Bulgarian government took office. Two of the three members of the RIA Management Board were dismissed, Tsekov's Ministry reported.

Yassen Yordanov was appointed Chair of the Management Board. Kaloyan Kirov is the other new member of the Board. The third member, Dessislava Paunova, who joined the RIA management at the time of former prime minister Galab Donev's caretaker government, retains her position.

The Regional Development Ministry also said it had taken "provisional measures and preventive action to defend the national interest" in connection with a four-year road maintenance campaign. The measures, effective until the new RIA Management Board members took office on Thursday, concerned a set of public procurement procedures for the maintenance of national roads (as opposed to municipal roads), which were launched under the caretaker government. The contracts total BGN 4 billion. According to the press release, it is the new RIA management that should complete the procedures and bear the political responsibility for the final decisions.

Taking over, the new RIA management stated they trust the RIA staff and value their expertise.