Serious violations in the contracts for the supply and installation of guardrails, payments above the legally permissible values and suspicions of favoring certain companies. This is what the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Shishkov spoke about on the air of “Hello, Bulgaria“. He commented on the signal from the MRF to the prosecutor's office related to public procurement for road restraint systems, and made accusations of affected economic interests.
The minister also touched on the condition of the road infrastructure, including the dangerous joint on the Southern Arc of the Sofia Ring Road, the completion of the last eight kilometers of the route and the progress on the “Struma“ motorway.
The reason for the comment was a signal from the MRF to the prosecutor's office, in which questions were raised about the indexation of contracts for restraint systems during the first caretaker government of Galab Donev. The party claims that the applied methodology has led to an increase in the price of contracts by over 160%. The company “Jupiter 05“ was also mentioned Ltd., insisting on checking public procurement.
This is happening against the backdrop of the political clash between the ruling party and the MRF, after the government announced data on the party leader's flights, for which, according to the information provided, costs of about 5 million were borne by a company associated with contractors of public procurement for guardrails.
Ivan Shishkov rejected the accusations against himself and stated that in his opinion, the MRF's reaction was dictated by affected financial interests. “It is strange, but, of course, there is logic - economic interests were violated. Because we stopped the public procurement for the guardrails for one billion. We said: No, we will not work this way. We have even already started working not with these companies“, the minister said.
According to him, the state company “Automagistrali“ has taken action to independently carry out activities to replace guardrails. “Recall that the “Automagistrali“ Company, which was extremely violently attacked, began to prepare to replace only the guardrails. They purchased machines, hired workers and even purchased a small amount of guardrails from a Turkish company“, he pointed out.
The Regional Minister presented a chronology of the procedures for guardrails. According to him, these are six regions for which contracts were concluded after public procurements conducted during the government of Kiril Petkov.
He emphasized that the contracts themselves were signed at the service office, but the procedures for selecting contractors were completed earlier. “There are six sections for which contracts for guardrails have been signed. Let it be clear that the tenders and competitions were held during the government of Kiril Petkov, not in our time. Yes, the contracts were signed, but under completed procedures“, said Shishkov.
According to him, additional agreements to the contracts were subsequently signed in 2024, 2025 and the beginning of 2026. “The next moment, annexes to these contracts began to be signed. These annexes were signed in 2024, 2025 and at the very beginning of 2026. That is, by whom were they signed in practice? From all these other governments that came after us“, he said.
Shishkov also linked this period to the political changes in the way the service cabinets were appointed, criticizing the parties that participated in the constitutional changes.
According to Shishkov, in three of the six regions, the value of the contracts was exceeded by more than 50% - the limit that he indicated as legally permissible. “By law, they can be exceeded by 50% of the value. And awards were made under these contracts above the specified amount“, the regional minister said.
He specified that initially an amount of approximately 50 million was planned for each of the regions, without specifying the currency in his statement. When asked whether the additionally assigned activities were paid for, Shishkov answered in the affirmative.
The minister also admitted a possible connection between these funds and the previously disclosed data on flight payments, but explicitly presented this as his assumption, not as a proven fact. “The money paid may have gone where the money for the flights was established. That's what I assume“, said Shishkov.
According to the regional minister, the excesses were established in three regions in Southern Bulgaria, while there are no similar excesses in the contracts for Northern Bulgaria. When asked why he made this distinction, Shishkov drew attention to a Plovdiv company operating in the road restraint systems sector.
When asked why DPS mentioned “Jupiter 05“ OOD in its signal, the minister said that he had not followed up in detail which specific company was being cited by the party. “I don't even know which company they are waving at me. I haven't listened carefully to which company it is. You see, everything I'm saying right now - the more we talk about the topic, the more facts come out. The problem is getting bigger“, he commented.
Shishkov expressed hope that criminal liability will be sought, pointing out that the information about the barriers has already reached the Ministry of Internal Affairs. “I hope so. There is certainly a crime, because when there is an excess of the procedure, that is, more than the permissible excess of 50% is paid, this is a violation,“ the minister said.
According to him, the documents were signed by the then heads of the “Road Infrastructure“ Agency.
The dangerous joint on the Ring Road: “We will fix it“
Ivan Shishkov also commented on a signal from NOVA viewers about a dangerous joint on the Southern Arc of the Sofia Ring Road. The problematic spot is on the bridge over “Simeonovsko Shose“ Boulevard. The joint is over 50 centimeters deep and over 20 centimeters wide. Thousands of cars, buses and trucks pass through the section every day.
Around the obstacle there are many parts of damaged cars, including caps. There is also a manhole without a cover nearby, which creates an additional danger for drivers. The Sofia Municipality indicates that there are about 50 files on the problem, but the repair is delayed due to unresolved relations with the RIA. “We are not making excuses, we will fix the joint. However, the point is that we must have an agreement. The agreements have not been signed since last year“, said Shishkov.
He explained that the Ministry of Regional Development and the Sofia Municipality have not reached a final agreement on the maintenance of roads with shared responsibilities. “Since I have been regional minister, I have had many talks with the previous deputy mayor for construction and we worked well. He was replaced. In this case, the shifts in the Sofia Municipality have become an epidemic, but this is a problem for those governing Sofia“, the minister commented.
He denied that there was an institutional conflict between the state and the municipality, pointing out that the talks with the deputy mayors were well-intentioned. At the same time, he expressed dissatisfaction that the Sofia mayor did not personally participate in them.
Shishkov announced that he had signed an order to approve the detailed development plan for the last section of the Ring Road. About eight kilometers remain for the closure of the entire road ring. He recalled that in 2023 a detailed development plan for another section with a length of 6.5 kilometers was approved.
According to him, the state will take over the expropriation of most of the necessary properties, and the Sofia Municipality will have to carry out the procedures for a smaller part of the route, which enters the city districts and streets. Shishkov expects a public procurement procedure to be announced for the section for which the development plan has already come into force at the beginning of next year. Additional administrative procedures and possible appeals are pending for the last approved 2.5 kilometers.
„Struma“ Motorway: Kresna bypass should be ready by the end of next year
The regional minister also commented on the construction of the „Struma“ motorway, stating that work is being actively carried out on a number of sections after a long period of delay. According to him, a detailed development plan for a section outside the Kresna Gorge has already been approved, and expropriation procedures have begun for another part.
„The Kresna bypass should be completed by the end of next year under contract. I hope the builders will finish earlier. You know that I personally went to an inspection. Construction is underway,“ said Shishkov.
When asked whether the problem of passing through the area would not simply move to another narrowing of the road, the minister admitted that a final solution could only be found after the entire highway was built. “The problem will be solved when we build the entire highway. And the problem of connectivity in Bulgaria in general will be solved when we build these 1,000 kilometers of highways that we don't have,“ he said.