In times when the state does not have funds for large infrastructure projects, we must look for alternative ways of financing to build the projects dreamed of for Bulgaria.
This was written by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov on Facebook, quoted by NOVA.
„There are many, many objects that have become either a national or regional dream, already a chimera, i.e. some people have been waiting for dams against water scarcity for decades, others - highways, others - the railway. If we continue to wait, generations will pass before anyone sees the result“, adds Karadjov.
According to him, at such times people turn to the public-private partnership, which is regulated in the Concessions Act. He explicitly emphasizes that this has nothing to do with concessions for mineral waters, for minerals, for beaches, etc., because all improvements remain for the state and for Bulgarian citizens.
“In the procedures, which are “extremely transparent“, especially for large projects, economic, legal, social and environmental analyses will be needed. The consultants are the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank – they will participate and assist in the process of selecting a concessionaire“, the Deputy Prime Minister also writes.
“The “Black Sea” Motorway has been waiting for two decades because there is no money for it. The same is true of the highway from the border with North Macedonia through Dupnitsa (connection with the “Struma” highway), Samokov and from there to the “Thrace” highway. We have no tunnels in the central Balkan region, nor in the west in the Sofia region“, he points out.
“The idea for the tunnel under Petrohan dates back to 1974 and for 50 years there has been no money to do it. And there are private funds, private funds that are not only interested in big and quick profits. On the contrary, a part of their money is always set aside for the foundation, they are looking for exactly such infrastructure projects where the profit is low, but there is 100% security. Security comes from the fact that there will always be flows of people and goods, i.e. "There will always be a payment for this infrastructure," says Karadjov, expressing his conviction that this approach with the public-private partnership will ignite Bulgaria's economic engine.
„The concessionaire's profit depends on how well it operates and manages state property. It will fulfill the goals of the state with its own strength and resources. There will no longer be boards of officials who want a continuous increase in capital expenditures that are wasted“, the Minister of Transport also writes.
As good examples of concessions, Grozdan Karadjov gives the airports of Sofia, Varna and Burgas, the port of Burgas, several of the ports on the Danube. They cost the state nothing, but every year it receives income from concession fees. Bulgarian public infrastructure is also being renovated, which from the moment of its construction becomes the property of the state, Karadjov adds.