The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works has created an interactive map that shows the money that municipalities have applied for for municipal projects, the funds they have received and those they expect.
A map says more than an Excel spreadsheet. Its main goal is to have transparency in the process, explained the acting regional minister Nikolay Naydenov on bTV.
"When I took office as minister, Prime Minister Gyurov gave me the task of clarifying the process of implementing the budget program for municipalities. And to make it more effective. For these two things to happen - they go through digitalization. Behind this data on the map are tables that can be downloaded and anyone can check the payments. State money from the budget of all people is returned to the people through the municipalities, depending on how many people live in a municipality. That is why we should spend our money through the municipalities, not through state agencies", explained Minister Naydenov.
In his words, this is the best way to spend money - through the municipalities. "Mayors should say what this money is needed for", he explained.
"We are currently analyzing which municipalities are lagging behind, have a contribution of less than 50% of the implementation of the contracts, we will first serve them and get things moving. Then those that have advanced and are waiting to finalize their projects - this will also be done in collaboration with the National Association of Municipalities. The available money is about 170 million euros, they are part of the budget," the acting minister also indicated.
Naydenov boasted that the map was created in 10 days by him and his political advisor. The newly created website of the department shows the progress of project implementation in all municipalities. Minister Naydenov also noted that he has the ambition to create a similar interactive map for the "Road Infrastructure" Agency. "All contracts should be uploaded online so that there is public access to the information," he said.
Regarding the renovation, he commented that this is one of the successful programs under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, with 135 million euros to be paid by the end of March 2026, and the program will end in June and another 555 buildings will be approved.