The construction of the National Children's Hospital, the completion of the Sofia Ring Road, access to Vitosha and the improvement of the neighborhoods through the investment program for municipal projects are the top priorities of the government for Sofia. For their implementation, we will rely on partnership with both the Sofia Municipality and the district mayors. This was stated by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, arch. Ivan Shishkov, who held a meeting with district mayors in Sofia and deputy mayors of the Sofia Municipality. The working meeting, which discussed a wide range of topics, was also attended by MPs from “Progressive Bulgaria“, representing the capital in parliament.
The minister pointed out to the participants that Sofia has a number of problems, the solution of which requires expeditiousness and joint work, including on legal changes that would improve living conditions in cities.
Minister Shishkov informed that Sofia Municipality will be able to renew its urban transport with modern and environmentally friendly buses, trolleybuses, electric buses and metro trains. For this purpose, 282 million euros have been provided under the “Regional Development“ 2021-2027 (RDR) Program managed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. The funds will be used to build, in addition to new vehicles, the necessary charging infrastructure for them. “Urban transport is extremely important for all Sofia residents and guests of the city. By modernizing public transport, literally every euro will reach the people“, emphasized Arch. Shishkov.
He also announced that 88 new agreements are to be signed for the implementation of various infrastructure projects in the capital with funding from the state budget under the Investment Program for Municipal Projects. In addition, the MRDPW has paid all verified projects implemented to date, and payment documents for some of the largest projects are in the process of being processed. The Minister thanked the members of the parliament who, through legal amendments, have given the opportunity for the Sofia Municipality to apply for the program and reminded that during the previous regular cabinets it was among the municipalities with the fewest approved project proposals.
Regarding the national children's hospital, the regional minister informed that a completely new assignment is currently being made and a tender procedure for the design and construction of the medical facility will soon be announced, because the old one did not meet the realities, and the procedure itself has been appealed. The detailed development plan is currently being amended to build a substation to serve the new building and the neighboring residential blocks and sites, as well as to build a parking lot to serve patients in the southern direction. “Cooperation on this topic with the municipality is very important, because the procedures must be completed as quickly as possible“, emphasized Minister Shishkov.
“After a three-year pause, the entire detailed development plan for the completion of the Sofia Ring Road was approved - a neglected project for 15 years”, reminded Minister Shishkov. He informed that he is about to issue an order to approve the document. Procedures are already underway for the expropriation of the properties falling within the 6-kilometer route from “Gorna Banya“ to the “Struma“ motorway. However, the municipality must change the status of the municipal streets falling within the scope. The Minister emphasized that the construction of the ring road will solve a number of problems - ensuring access to the future children's hospital, eliminating intensive traffic from the "Knyazhevo" district, but also the problem with the cloverleaf to the "Boyana" district. According to Arch. Shishkov, the facility is old and does not meet the increased traffic, because even with normal operation it cannot accommodate all cars. "A comprehensive project for SOP, traffic analysis and a transport scheme will provide a lasting solution. Campaign money for poor-quality sites will not be given," the regional minister was categorical.
Regarding accessibility to Vitosha and the restoration of the lift facilities, Arch. Ivan Shishkov assured the representatives of the local government that four ministries are actively working on the necessary changes to the Forestry Act and the Tourism Act, with the main goal being for the facilities to have no problems with the easement of the land they pass through. This is the main problem for the repair of the old lifts. All mountain resorts in our country will be able to benefit from the change in legislation, because there are problems everywhere. “We will analyze the texts so that all ski resorts can function, so that we can use the mountains for active sports, not only in winter, but also actively in summer“, the minister emphasized.
Together with the mayors, the regional minister also discussed the idea of providing a fund for public development in Sofia. The idea is that it should include fees from national and local permits. The accumulated funds will be used specifically for the expropriation of land for schools, kindergartens, and parks. “The idea is for the city to have an inviolable fund, and not for each subsequent mayor to use the money at his own discretion. We are ready to work for this. Pouring money from the municipality and the state leads nowhere“, said the minister. According to him, this is the only way to catch up with the construction of public infrastructure and thus the public will not be left with the impression that only residential buildings are being built. He also proposed the idea of building underground garages under the parking lots and inter-block spaces. “The problem with parking must be solved, cars must go underground“, commented the arch. Shishkov added that the facilities can be built through a public-private partnership, as there is not enough money in the budget.
In front of the media, Minister Shishkov also commented on the resignation of the executive director of “Automagistrali“ EAD and a possible connection with the installation of guardrails by the company. He was categorical that the resignation was for personal reasons, and described the attacks on the subject by the Road Safety Institute as political. “We terminated the public procurement for guardrails for a lot of money due to suspicions of corruption. The Ministry of Internal Affairs established criminal facts that showed that we were right. The only way to have guardrails on the roads is for “Automagistrali“ to install them in-house, without subcontracting the service, for which it purchased machines. The moment he stopped buying guardrails from companies that have entered the criminal chronicle, flying with airplanes, there was one person who attacked the installation of guardrails. From now on, everyone can take stock of whose interests we have violated and who orders comments when. A senseless political campaign and war is being waged for violated interests. Find out whose interests are obviously violated and why some people are defending those who are illuminated by their frauds“, commented arch. Ivan Shishkov.