site.btaUPDATED Regional Minister: Any Report of Manipulation in Buildings' Energy Renovation Documents Will Be Sent to European Public Prosecutor's Office

Regional Development and Public Works Minister Andrey Tsekov Sunday urged citizens to report to his Ministry in case of suspicions of manipulation of data in the certificates of buildings applying for energy renovation. 

"In this case, I will send the documents to the control authority and the European Public Prosecutor's Office. If there is manipulation of data, it indicates documentary fraud aimed at illegal appropriation of EU funds", Tsekov told Nova TV. He added that so far not a single report of false data in the certificates of the buildings has been submitted.

Around 3,000 apartment buildings in the country need energy renovation. Seven or eight years ago it was 5,000. About 2,100 buildings were renovated under the national renovation programme, the regional minister said.

As of May 31, 2023, 3,068 applications had been submitted for renovation under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), and 756 were approved. It has been clear from the outset that the resources of BGN 1 billion and BGN 129 million made available under the NRRP will not be sufficient to meet all needs. The submitted project proposals amount to nearly BGN 4 billion. It is a competitive selection procedure and each project competes with every other project in the whole country, Tsekov noted. 

He added that the deadline for the second stage of applications for renovation, which expires on January 16, will be extended, which will be announced as soon as the deadline expires, and it is likely to be extended to the end of February 2024. 

Funding for the second stage is BGN 282 million, Tsekov pointed out, specifying that according to the European Commission's guidelines, 20% of the cost of the renovation of the approved buildings will be self-financed.

At the end of the past week, Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva acted upon a number of complaints about rejected projects for free renovation of residential buildings. In their complaints to the public defender, citizens said they disagreed with the assessments of the investment proposals and considered them unfair, expressing doubts about the objectivity of the energy efficiency audit of the applicant buildings, which was not monitored.

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Trakia Motorway will be widened by one lane in each direction in the section between Sofia and Plovdiv, Tsekov said. The ministry has prepared a public tender for a conceptual design, which is to be launched in February. However, construction is expected to start in at least three years, Tsekov noted. 

Europe Motorway is expected to be completed at the end of 2024. "I am confident that we will be able to complete section 1 of the Hemus motorway and substantially complete the works on section 3," the minister added. A total of 40 km or 50 km of the motorway is expected to be ready by the end of the year. 

No increase in vignettes and toll prices is planned in Bulgaria, Tsekov said.