The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works has identified cases of abuse of funds intended for the renovation of apartment blocks in Asenovgrad and Lovech. This was announced by the regional minister, arch. Ivan Shishkov, in “Face to Face“ on bTV, quoted by novini.bg.
According to him, in the specific cases, documents with false content were presented, certifying that certain construction activities were carried out, while on-site inspections showed otherwise.
“They present documents that the work was carried out. At some point, of course, we go, check and see that these blocks have not only not been renovated yet, but the scaffolding is still standing on the blocks“, explained Shishkov.
He pointed out that the case in Asenovgrad is particularly serious, where the buildings have not been completed.
The minister said that inspections are carried out wherever doubts have arisen regarding the implementation of assigned projects. According to him, the goal is to establish whether the funds - regardless of whether they are European or national funding - have actually been invested in carrying out quality construction.
Shishkov also commented on the case of the art gallery in Haskovo, which is a cultural monument. He has ordered a thorough inspection of the reconstruction and strengthening of the building.
“The reconstruction itself is extremely complex. Of course, I ordered a thorough inspection because I want to be convinced that the strengthening of the building was carried out according to the project“, said the minister.
He specified that doubts arose during his on-site visit, but final conclusions can be drawn after the inspection is completed and the entire project documentation is reviewed.
The regional minister warned mayors and public procurement contractors to use the funds for their intended purpose and ensure the quality implementation of the projects.
“Let all mayors be clear: this period in which documents with false content were created and money was taken is already over“, he said.
According to him, there are municipalities in which certain companies “have traditions“ in winning public procurement contracts. Shishkov stressed that these cases will also be investigated.
“All the competitions that were held for these barriers were held at the time when Grozdan Karadjov was Minister of Regional Development. That is, when our cabinet, which is official, came in then, the then management of the RIA signed these contracts. But the reason is that the public procurements had already been completed. And these procurements were not completed by our cabinet”, explained Shishkov on the case with the barriers.