Everything that has been presented as information is not true, said the former Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov in the program "Face to Face" on BTV in connection with the allegations of Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov that during his management of the MRDPW, payments were made for the illegal construction of the "Hemus" highway.
Shishkov lied. The information he presented is extremely distorted and fundamentally untrue. He can familiarize himself with the documents and apologize publicly. Otherwise, it falls under the hypothesis of denial, and I do not want to enter into such a controversy with him, said Ivanov.
This topic was discussed during the parliamentary control and as a minister I have presented all the facts. The saga is very long, but in the end, a minister signs the construction permit, when it goes through a comprehensive procedure and the experts in the ministry prepare the document for signature. I can also emphasize that there was a deadline for appealing this permit and it was not appealed, the former regional minister pointed out.
I requested an inspection of lot 4 and it was established that as of the date of my entry into the ministry there was no illegal construction. If someone has destroyed documents over the years, this is already a topic for investigation. Separately, a team of over 15 people checked with the DNSK to ensure that there was no illegal construction in these sections, noted Ivan Ivanov.
During the "Zhelyazkov" cabinet, such payments were not made. Advance payments for the construction of the "Hemus" highway were paid in 2019 and 2020, and from then on, payments were made for actions actually carried out, Ivanov emphasized.