„The most important thing is to have highways as soon as possible and we cannot wait any longer, because this stops the overall economic development of Bulgaria“. This was stated by Prime Minister Rumen Radev to journalists during an inspection of the construction activities on the Ring Road of the city of Plovdiv together with the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Shishkov.
Prime Minister Radev noted that among the priorities of the government is the construction of large road projects at a much higher quality, including through concessions.
The law on public-private partnership is already being considered, and next week the government will adopt a strategic analysis of which are the most priority road arteries and other projects in Bulgaria. The Prime Minister specified that it is impossible for the state to be ready for such a large-scale construction immediately after the adoption of the regulations and a number of administrative procedures are ahead for everything to be in accordance with the law. “In order to invite an investor, we must first do our homework. We must have the so-called project readiness“, Rumen Radev pointed out. The optimistic deadline for announcing a concession in our country is next year.
“These will be open tenders. We will invite all our companies and foreign companies. Anyone who wants to can participate, but these companies must build these highways at their own expense. They must also maintain them exclusively at their own expense. In this situation, they cannot compromise on quality, because they will have to repair them at their own expense. In this way, we are also eliminating all the corruption schemes that have prevailed so far in Bulgarian road construction and for which contracts have been concluded that we now have to pay. This is of key importance for the country's economic development“, said Prime Minister Radev.
Regarding the methodology for paying for the use of road infrastructure, Minister Ivan Shishkov explained that after 2030, the entire European Union will pay in the same way, in accordance with an EU directive. “It is important for us to change the entire economic model, which would truly guarantee us to have roads“, said Minister Shishkov.
“From the very beginning of our mandate, we have clearly stated that in a market economy, the state cannot and should not administratively set prices. Our goal is to limit the rate of their increase and create conditions for greater stability, especially for food products“, Prime Minister Radev answered a journalist's question about measures against high food prices. The Prime Minister noted the positive trend in statistics for limiting the growth of food prices over the past two months. The Prime Minister also outlined the government's specific measures for greater transparency and control, including a significant increase in sanctions for violations and clarification of pricing throughout the food chain. “This will enable the control bodies to have more complete information and to react effectively when unjustified overpricing and unfair trade practices are identified“, Rumen Radev also noted.
In connection with a question about changes in the services, the Prime Minister stated that the government is undertaking reforms in the security services, the aim of which will be to increase their efficiency, professional training and technological security. Rumen Radev pointed out that it is necessary for the services to have the necessary capacity and modern equipment in order to be able to adequately respond to modern challenges. In addition, the Prime Minister emphasized that the services should not serve certain political circles and groups, but should truly work for national security. “There is evidence of certain individuals being linked to suspicious groups, and these circumstances are being clarified and the competent institutions are expected to present additional information“, the Prime Minister also noted.