“Golden“ 2 km of asphalt in the last hours of power. The Road Safety Institute warns about a public procurement of the “Road Infrastructure“ Agency, published in the period April 27 – May 4, 2026 – literally in the last days of the “Gyurov“ cabinet.
We are talking about procedure No. 00044-2026-0028 in the CAIS EOP: AM “Struma“, Lot 3.1 (km 373+300 – km 376+000) ⁃ 90 million euros for ~2 km, which is 45 million euros/km.
According to the Road Safety Institute, this is a symptom of a pattern, not an exception. The IPB emphasizes that there is simultaneously direct negotiation (without competition), a record high price and timing in the last days of the government.
According to the institute, this is not just an order. This is a textbook example of how public funds are “absorbed“ in a transitional moment of power. This is a classic combination for opaque spending of public funds.
Even more worrying is that the project is connected to the same circle of construction companies, around which there have been sanctions, corrections and suspicions of irregularities over the years, the institute adds.
The fact that in 2021, Todor Anastasov, as Deputy Minister of Regional Development, was subject to serious public and political pressure in connection with the Shipka tunnel project and was dismissed from his post, cannot be ignored. Today, as head of the RIA, the same management model is clearly being reproduced.
According to data from the Road Safety Institute, Bulgaria is a champion in expensive asphalt. And they indicate prices in Europe: 1-10 million euros/km and up to 25 million euros/km in difficult terrain.
The “Road Infrastructure“ Agency in this form it has become a risk factor for public finances, rather than a guarantor of their effective management. IPB again demands the dissolution of RIA and the creation of a new, transparent structure.