[size=75:2h6b4g3z]Sofia echo 19 March 2010

Five infrastructure projects in Sofia delayed indefinitely

Proposed construction on five two-level junctions in Sofia is likely to be postponed. Construction of the infrastructure, planned for this year, now appears impracticable.

Work has been postponed because, should all five projects go ahead, traffic in Sofia would all but cease, creating enormous congestion in the process, according to deputy transport mayor Lyubomir Hristov. He did say, however, that perhaps one, or possibly two, of the projects may be allowed to proceed as planned.

One such interchange is planned for the junction of Andrei Lyapchev Boulevard and Andrei Saharov Boulevard in the Sofia borough of Mladost. Reportedly, Sofia municipality has not given up on the projects, but they appear to be pushed back indefinitely for the moment.

The delay of the construction will have to be co-ordinated with the European Investment Bank (EIB), which has released a loan for the projects in question. The loan covers half of the total cost – estimated at 44 million euro, and must be appropriated by 2012.

"
We will negotiate with the bank for a portion of the credit to be redirected towards other projects,"
Hristov said.

Sofia Chief Mayor Petar Dikov had proposed to the EIB that of the five initial interchanges, only two should remain – one in Mladost and the other near the television tower. The remaining resources ought to be reassigned to "
similar"
projects in the Zaharna Fabrika borough and the bridge of Bakurena Fabrika.

The complication arises from the fact that signed contracts already exist for all five projects. According to the municipal administration, however, the contracts "
come into effect only when full financing is assured. Furthermore, even in the case when the aforementioned contracts are annulled, construction companies do not have the right to sue