The Road Safety Institute has identified the contract for 2.7 kilometers of the “Struma“ motorway near Simitli as a test for Rumen Radev's governance. The organization questioned the explanation that the procedure could not have been terminated, since it began in 2025 under the previous government.
The contract was signed on October 6, 2026 between the “Road Infrastructure“ Agency and DZZD “AM Struma 3.1“. Its value is 107,889,340.04 euros including VAT, which according to IPB calculations is nearly 40 million euros per kilometer.
From Veliko Tarnovo, Radev and his team have stated that the procedure was inherited from the previous government and the current government was obliged to finalize it under the existing conditions. IPB disputes this position and compares it to a suspended procedure for guardrails for nearly 500 million euros.
IPB indicates a difference of nearly 90 million leva
According to the institute, the large difference between the highest and lowest bids was among the reasons why the previous management of API did not finalize the procedure for “Struma“. IPB claims that the difference is almost twice, and the lowest bid was from STRABAG.
According to data cited by the organization, the company's offer is nearly 90 million leva below the price at which the government concluded the contract. IPB questions why an offer from a large European construction company was rejected as a practical alternative, while the contract was presented as inevitable.
“This is not an explanation. This is an attempt to escape political responsibility“, IPB states.The organization also claims that an open procedure was being prepared that would allow participation by all companies with the necessary capacity and create real competition. These claims are not accompanied by documents published in the position that show the full terms of the individual offers.
They want the documents and the legal grounds
IPB insists that the government check all legal options for protecting the public interest if the contract is disadvantageous for the state. The institute calls for the publication of the documents on the procedure and the specific legal grounds on which the claim that the contract cannot be suspended is based.
The position concludes with the assessment that the difference of nearly 90 million leva cannot be explained only by the argument that the state had no other choice. As of the publication of the opinion, no decision to terminate or revise the contract was indicated.
Sources: focus-news.net, fakti.bg