site.btaUPDATED 12 Bridges Need Repairs after Floods, Natural Disasters Fund Can Cover Costs - Finance Minister

According to preliminary estimates, there are 12 bridges, whose repairs would cost between BGN 20 and 30 million, after the floods that hit the southern Black Sea coast in the past days. At the moment the free capital in the Natural Disasters and Accidents Fund is over BGN 60 million, Finance Minister Assen Vassilev told reporters at the National Assembly after a meeting with the chairs of the parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance and the Committee on Internal Security and Public Order - Jordan Tzonev and Desislava Atanasova.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Interior Minister Stoyan Temelakiev. A report by the Mayor of Tsarevo, one of the municipalities worst hit by the floods, was heard.

Vassilev recalled that in the budget adopted at the end of July, funds for the Natural Disasters and Accidents Fund were increased.

When the damage is clear, the Natural Disasters and Accidents Committee will meet at the Interior Ministry and accept the assessments, so that the funds can be released in emergency mode on the spot, the Finance Minister explained. The Committee is already looking into assessments related to the floods in Northern Bulgaria. Funds are available and can be transferred.

Vassilev noted that in 2022 regional governors were instructed to assess where the presence of uncleared riverbeds, problem areas, so that such disasters can be avoided when possible. The governors submitted information about more than 250 stretches in bad condition and in need of further cleaning.

The Minister of Finance reported that a special multi-year fund aimed at disaster prevention will be provided in the next budget.

Deputy Interior Minister Temelakiev assured that a process is underway to establish the exact extent of the damage caused by the torrential rains. The Committee headed by the Minister of Interior is already working to process the incoming data with specific damage. When specific data is available, in no more than 10 days, the committee will meet, consider all the incoming proposals, take the relevant decisions and the reconstruction processes will be initiated as quickly as possible, the Deputy Minister added.