The Sofia Municipality has signed a contract with the contractor selected after an open procedure to relocate the tram route along “Gen. M. D. Skobelev“ Blvd. The section covers the route from “Hristo Botev“ Blvd. through the beginning of the tunnel at the National Palace of Culture to Vitosha Blvd.
The contract was signed on October 20 by the Deputy Mayor for Public Works of Sofia Eng. Emilian Georgiev and the contractor Association “Geopath Skobelev“.
As the Sofia Municipality announced during the procedure, the association includes three companies with experience in building transport infrastructure: “Geostroy“ AD, “Patstroy-92“ AD and “Transremontstroy“ EAD.
The selected contractor must carry out engineering activities (design and construction) for the implementation of a new transport and communication solution in the specified section of the boulevard.
“This is a site of great public importance. We will monitor compliance with deadlines and quality of work extremely strictly“, said the Deputy Mayor for Public Works Eng. Emilian Georgiev. In his words “The relocation of the tram route onto a reinforced concrete facility is a serious engineering decision that must be implemented in an intensive central urban environment. The project is intended to solve a problem that people in the area have been waiting for for a long time“.
First, a detailed design will be developed based on an approved conceptual design. The deadline for its preparation, coordination and submission is 60 calendar days. After that, a building permit must be issued in accordance with the regulatory requirements and construction can begin. The deadline for the implementation of construction and assembly works is 150 calendar days. It is important to emphasize that calendar days refer to days that are suitable for carrying out construction activities.
The total value of the contract is 5.146 million euros excluding VAT.
The Sofia Municipality consistently fulfills its commitments to implement a new solution for the tram on “Gen. M. D. Skobelev“ Blvd. in the section between “Hristo Botev“ Blvd., the NDK tunnel and “Vitosha“ Blvd.
Immediately after the decree of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) of September 16, 2025, the Mayor of Sofia ordered that all actions be urgently taken for its implementation. During this period, Sofia Municipality, through the “Public Construction“ department, carried out all necessary actions to advance the implementation of the project for relocating the route along “Skobelev“ Blvd. Namely:
The Sofia Municipality commissioned a redesign of the conceptual design, based on the adopted technical solution for the tram route, approved by the Sofia Municipal Council on July 12, 2018. In this way, the tram route was separated into an individual public procurement, which was to be prioritized over the other voluminous and diverse investment intentions set out in the scope of the inherited and terminated previous procedure under the Public Procurement Act for “Skobelev“ Blvd.
After the revision of the conceptual design, on November 13, 2025. the “Public Construction“ submitted the new public procurement to the Public Procurement Agency (PPA) for mandatory control, and the agency's opinion was received on February 10, 2026. On February 26, 2026, Sofia Municipality announced the new procedure under the Public Procurement Act for the selection of an engineering contractor - development of a technical project for the revised conceptual design and construction of the new transport solution.
After reviewing the technical proposals and price offers of the participants, a contractor was selected on July 27, 2026. On August 3, 2026, the statutory appeal period expired, and within the same period, none of the other participants in the procedure appealed its legality and the selection of the contractor. An invitation was sent to conclude a contract with the Association “Geopath Skobelev“.
What does the project envisage
The project envisages the relocation of the tram route, which will be brought above ground and will pass over a newly built reinforced concrete structure. The existing rail track to the beginning of the tunnel will be dismantled.
The new solution for the tram route along Blvd. “Gen. M. D. Skobelev“ has a total length of 430 m.
In the section from Tsar Petar St. to Tsar Asen I St., the dismantling of the tram rails and the laying of asphalt concrete pavement are planned. A one-way local lane with a width of 3 m will be created for better service and access to the adjacent residential buildings. A complete repair of the sidewalks from Prague Blvd. to Vitosha Blvd. is also planned. For the northern local lane, also with a width of 3 m, rehabilitation of the road surface and renovation of the sidewalks in the section from Patriarch Evtimiy Blvd. to „Vitosha“ Blvd.
The tunnel will provide a road connection along the route of the existing tram line, as well as a diversion to „Fridjof Nansen“ Blvd. with connections to „Cherni Vrah“ Blvd., „Bulgaria“ and „Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi“ Blvd.
„The construction activities will be carried out under a temporary traffic organization regime, taking into account the enormous importance of public transport on „Gen. Skobelev“ Blvd., we will strive to organize the work in such a way as to prevent a prolonged suspension of transport services, except for short periods related to the construction schedule, and we will not allow a compromise with the quality of the site“, also emphasized the Deputy Mayor Eng. Emilian Georgiev.