I didnt know wether to post this under Media or Jokes Forum?

Taken from the Sofia Morning News


The renovation of 300 km of Bulgarian roads for a total of BGN 130 M under the EU operational program Regional Development begins Thursday.

The start will be marked with a groundbreaking ceremony on the road connecting the northeastern city of Dobrich with the Romanian border where BGN 5 M will be used in the next 3 months to renovate 16 km.

The Minister of Regional Development, Rosen Plevneliev, promised that groundbreaking ceremonies will take place every other day in September, saying 14 road sections will be renovated. According to Plevneliev, 2011 will break the 2007 record when BGN 200 M was invested in the country’s roads. The amount for 2011 is BGN 500 M to be used for another 16 road sections or 311 km.

On Wednesday, the Finance Ministry received letters asking for an additional BGN 61 M for the financing in 2011 of road projects that are being realized with loans from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.

I think most things like this should be in the jokes

[size=55:2knrtqdj]Tundzha.info 12 October 2010

550 000 leva for national roads in Yambol

National Road Infrastructure Fund grants 550,000 euro for emergency repair of the main national roads in the territory of Yambol, before the earth season.

This was announced by vice-governor Dimitar Ivanov immediately after his meeting with Chairman of the Board of API Prof. Bozidar Yotov.

Together with the Director of the regional road management Yambol Prof. Galin Kostov, the deputy governor was at the Agency to negotiate the necessary funds to repair roads.

"
With the resources provided ongoing repairs start to the weekend was explicit Dimitar Ivanov, and will cover most neuralgic points of the road network. By providing funds for repairs is fulfilled the commitment made by the Governor Tanya Dimitrova and deputy governor, during a meeting of the Headquarters for coordination of rescue and emergency repair work to provide the fastest way of funds for roads in the region .

So before the winter period the necessary repairs will be carried out. Priority repairs will cover the premium and secondary roads, including repairs on Route I-7, Route I-6 and sections of road II-53.

I wonder how much of the 550,000 euros will actually get spent on the roads? and although this sounds like a lot of money its only a drop in the ocean compared to what actually needs to doing on these roads its a great pity that the Bulgarian government is so short sighted and is only considering the repair of a few roads which they consider to be important or those that will get noticed by the EU

Very well put Bigsavak it does seem like a small amount of money for what is needed on the roads round Yambol I have visited the town and surround places and there is so much to be done on the roads all over not just in the chosen places that will make the municipality look good

Bulgaria to scrap repairs of 110km of roads

Bulgaria has decided to scrap repairs of 110km of roads as part of a programme financed by the World Bank envisaging the upgrade of 450km of roads.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet on December 8 2010 after approving a letter to be sent to the World Bank about amending the loan agreement.

The state is asking that the loan agreement, which expires on June 30 2011, should be extended by a further two years.

Bulgaria will also request the World Bank to drop the repairs of three lots, the upgrade of which has not been started yet.

The proposal, concerning road stretches spanning a combined 110km near the towns of Karlovo, Shoumen and Tran, also stipulates for the sections removal to be on account of the project's government co-financing of 54 million Euro.

The remaining 340km of roads will be repaired with the help of the 90 million Euro from the World Bank, of which just 16 per cent had been absorbed as at October 2010.

The loan's restructuring is intended to ensure sufficient funds to cover co-financing of road projects backed by the European Union and to allow the country to keep its budget deficit below three per cent, according to the Government statement.

Netsniperthefirst wrote:

[size=55:1lapqeiq]Tundzha.info 12 October 2010

550 000 leva for national roads in Yambol

National Road Infrastructure Fund grants 550,000 euro for emergency repair of the main national roads in the territory of Yambol, before the earth season.

This was announced by vice-governor Dimitar Ivanov immediately after his meeting with Chairman of the Board of API Prof. Bozidar Yotov.

Together with the Director of the regional road management Yambol Prof. Galin Kostov, the deputy governor was at the Agency to negotiate the necessary funds to repair roads.

"
With the resources provided ongoing repairs start to the weekend was explicit Dimitar Ivanov, and will cover most neuralgic points of the road network. By providing funds for repairs is fulfilled the commitment made by the Governor Tanya Dimitrova and deputy governor, during a meeting of the Headquarters for coordination of rescue and emergency repair work to provide the fastest way of funds for roads in the region .

So before the winter period the necessary repairs will be carried out. Priority repairs will cover the premium and secondary roads, including repairs on Route I-7, Route I-6 and sections of road II-53.

Did this happen or did I blink.

As for the latest news more humbug. I wonder who's pocket the money is staying warm in

Are you shocked Tony surely this is not the knd of thing that goes on in Yambol

Well with regard to the roads there were signs that things were starting to be done

I know of 2 roads that were partly (Oh yes partly) re-surfaced :Great:But they were not main roads so I question who is squeezing who.

But :shocked1:in general of course not. I think I am becoming more laid back by the minute

As most members will know I am one of the first to knock certain things in conection with Bulgaria, and the standard of roads have been high on my hit list, but give credit where it is due and I am pleased to report that there are good signs of improvement
On my last visit three weeks ago I was involved in a long traffic jam because a completely new surface was being put down on a stretch of road between Varna airport and Dobrich. The good thing is that the contractors were not just filling holes, they were putting down a 12-15cm tarmac surface and drainage each side of the road. Also the road between Dobrich and Silistra has now got a new surface and is a pleasure to drive on. No more potholes (craters) to damage our vehicle or it finish up with square wheels. Good for them

You can kiss half of this money good bye.What about the local municipal regions, They need money to upgrade the city and town roads too, we have some wonderfull motorways joining the cities and then shit when you get into the cities.

meandmine wrote:

You can kiss half of this money good bye.What about the local municipal regions, They need money to upgrade the city and town roads too, we have some wonderfull motorways joining the cities and then S**t when you get into the cities.

Which came first the chicken or the egg ???

Probably get a pallet of 25kg Driveway repair Tarmacadam shipped across from Wickes in England,employ a Gypsy for a couple of days and spent the rest on Black Mercs with privacy glass! Last winter when driving into Sunny beach to go shopping they were filling the pot holes with what looked like green fish tank gravel.Surprise,surprise it was all over the road when we were driving home from the supermarket an hour later! Some thought must have gone into it though as the size of the gravel used was just right for getting stuck in your tyre tread.And they think the English are stupid!!

Who would ever beleive that there are some stupid English people in Bulgaria :Very funny 2:However I do agree with you ABC the money is in the black mercs

[size=55:33cy09wg]BNR

Priorities in road infrastructure projects



By the end of its term in office, the Bulgarian cabinet is determined to construct a total of 288 km of highways. “In four years only, we will construct more roads than those built over 35 years of Socialism”, Bulgaria’s Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, Rossen Plevneliev, stated, outlining the priorities of the cabinet in its road infrastructure policy by 2020. The cabinet plans to focus its efforts on the construction of seven motorways, seven highways, two bridges over the Danube and a new tunnel under the Shipka pass in the Balkan Range.

What does statistical data on Bulgaria’s road infrastructure show?
To start with, more than three million motorized vehicles are moving on Bulgarian roads at the moment, with half of them being cars. In nine years alone, Bulgaria’s car fleet has increased by 150 percent, or one million cars. The number of trucks has risen twice. At the same time, 64 percent of cargo transportation in Bulgaria is done via auto mobile roads, and 66 percent of travels are carried out via auto mobiles. The density of Bulgaria’s road network is close to the average density in EU countries, but this country lags significantly behind in terms of highways. “If we construct these highways, we will reach the average EU level of road infrastructure”, Minister Plevneliev firmly stated.

Another important issue is: which are the priority road projects by 2020?
First, this is the Trakia highway, part of the cross-European transport network and a strategic section for the link between the Adriatic and Black Sea. This highway will provide the vital link between Central and Eastern Europe and Asia and the Near East via the port in Burgas. We need to focus also on the construction of the Black Sea highway as a vital section for the Black Sea ring road. The Lyulin Highway near Sofia will be crucial for redirecting cross-European transport corridors. The Maritsa Highway will increase Bulgaria’s trans-border cooperation with Turkey and Greece. Another project, the Struma highway, is a priority for the European Commission and a strategic link for Bulgarian ports on the Danube and Baltic ports with the Greek port in Tessaloniki on the Aegean Sea. The Kalotina border checkpoint is part of transport corridor 10 and provides a direct link to the Near East. Another crucial road is the Hemus Highway, with a strategic role to the development of almost 44 percent of the country’s territory and 37 percent of its population. It is a priority project on the Danube Strategy and Bulgaria’s top strategic priority in the period 2014-2020”, Minister Plevneliev pointed out.

And in financial terms, what will be the cost for implementing these strategic projects?
As Minister Plevneliev pointed out, a total of 5.5 bn Euro are needed to achieve a radical improvement of the country’s road infrastructure, as we already have 1 bn Euro available under Operational Programme Transport 2007-2013”, said Rossen Plevneliev. “We hope to receive from the European Commission a much larger funding for the period 2014-2020”. The 5 bn Euro will be split into two parts. The projects for the Hemus, Struma, and Black Sea highways have been estimated at almost 3 bn Euro.
More from Minister Plevneliev:

“In order to protect these three strategic projects for the period 2014-2020, we are seeking maximum cooperation with Europe. We want their experts to help us from the very beginning because these are really complicated projects. The roads will cross territories that are protected areas included in the Natura network. We are seeking new models of management and a higher quality. That is why we need European assistance. We will keep in touch with EU institutions in Brussels and Europe on a daily basis because these projects require a different strategy and a huge load of work. We need extreme solidarity and support from the European Commission, the Jaspers initiative, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Bank”.