The Road Infrastructure Agency has taken on financial commitments exceeding BGN 18.2 billion with expenditure resources of BGN 11.4 billion. The difference of BGN 6.8 billion means that the contracts exceed available funding by nearly 60%, according to an audit by the Bulgarian National Audit Office covering the period from January 1, 2020, to May 31, 2026, commissioned by the National Assembly.
According to the auditors, the obligations tie up budget funds for a total of 11 years and two months. This is approximately four years and two months beyond the end of the period under review. The audit identifies a risk of delayed payments to construction companies and difficulties in carrying out road projects.
Additional agreements increase contract values
Due to the shortage of funds, the government allocated an additional BGN 1.6 billion to the budget of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. Of this amount, BGN 1.2 billion was earmarked for routine repairs and road maintenance.
Of a total of 213 contracts for the maintenance of the national road network, additional agreements worth BGN 5.6 billion were signed for 139. This amount is 78% above the initial estimated value. Additional agreements worth BGN 1.9 billion were approved for 64 new construction contracts, while additional activities worth BGN 42.7 million were commissioned under 74 major repair contracts.
The Bulgarian National Audit Office points to a contract whose initial value was BGN 18.7 million but subsequently reached nearly BGN 396 million. A joint inspection by the finance and regional development ministries found that BGN 315 million, or 98.6% of the expenditure, was for major repairs, reconstruction or new construction, rather than for the routine and winter maintenance initially agreed in the contract. Due to delayed payments, the Road Infrastructure Agency incurred more than BGN 6.9 million in interest and legal costs.
Delayed documents and accounting adjustments
The audit also identifies problems with inflation-related indexation. The Road Infrastructure Agency signed 56 settlements worth nearly BGN 1.1 billion, of which just over BGN 761 million had been paid as of June 30, 2026. According to the Bulgarian National Audit Office, some of the agreements were signed without secured funding, while indexation was also negotiated under terminated contracts.
Documents for work already carried out remained without final approval for years. As of mid-2026, there were still such documents from 2022, 2024 and 2025. The Bulgarian National Audit Office points out that there is no maximum deadline for their approval and no clear criteria determining which payments should be made first.
Accounting adjustments amounting to BGN 1.5 billion were made in the regional ministry's 2025 financial report. They include 1,017 unapproved documents for routine repairs and maintenance worth nearly BGN 1.2 billion, unreported indexation amounting to BGN 312.5 million and interest of nearly BGN 6.2 million.
“These adjustments do not create new liabilities but reflect expenses that have already been incurred but were not recorded on time,” the Bulgarian National Audit Office уточнява.The inspection also found a lack of a unified system for tracking documents, uncertified copies, electronic spreadsheets without dates and signatures, and insufficient data on the materials used and their quality. According to the auditors, this makes it difficult to verify whether the activities have been carried out and creates a risk that the same work could be commissioned and paid for twice.
The Bulgarian National Audit Office has issued 10 recommendations and 5 sub-recommendations to the Road Infrastructure Agency's Management Board.
Sources: nova.bg