Question from the IPB to the Ministers of Regional Development and Public Works Violeta Komitova, Grozdan Karadzhov, Ivan Shishkov and Andrey Tsekov:
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
The public appearances of each of you in your capacity as Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, and some of you as members of parliament, contain the statement that on the “Hemus“ illegal construction activities have been carried out in the following chronology:
In 2021, Minister Violeta Komitova repeatedly convinced the Bulgarian public that on the “Hemus” Motorway, construction without approved investment projects and without an issued construction permit was established by the DNSK authorities in violation of the Spatial Planning Act /ZUT/, i.e. illegal within the meaning of Art. 225, para. 2, item 2 of the ZUT. During the inspections, it was found that construction and installation works were being carried out, including excavations, embankments, roadbeds and facilities on sections 4 and 5 of the “Hemus” Motorway, which is a first category construction. These activities were carried out on state, municipal and private property, for which the expropriation proceedings had not been completed as of the date of the inspection. It is alleged that on-site inspections were carried out and the violations were even filmed with a drone. On 09.09.2021, Minister Komitova even gave a special press conference on the topic. In this regard, on 07.11.2021, in an interview for the program "Nedelya 150" on the Bulgarian National Radio, arch. Vladi Kalinov, in his capacity as director of the DNSK, announced that the DNSK had issued protocols for certain illegal construction on lots 4 and 5 of the "Hemus" motorway. According to him, for this reason, the director of the RDNSK-Lovech was also dismissed.
The next Minister of the MRDPW Grozdan Karadjov continues in the same spirit, under whose administration the DNSK in December 2021 and January 2022 launched a penal procedure, at which time acts for administrative violations were served on Automagistrali EAD and the construction companies with which the company had concluded contracts for sections 4 and 5 of the "Hemus" Motorway. Also during his time, on June 30, 2022, the DNSK issued a total of 11 penal decrees for the established illegal construction in sections 4 and 5 of the Motorway. Thus, the sanctions imposed with these acts are appealed and canceled by the court.
The next Minister Ivan Shishkov goes even further. Through his numerous television and other media appearances, he insists in a very convincing manner before the public, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament that construction is being carried out illegally on the "Hemus" motorway. For example, as evident from a press release on the website of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works of the Republic of Bulgaria on 10.05.2023, Shishkov states: "Between 20-25% of lot 4 and partially lot 5 of the "Hemus" motorway have been built illegally. Therefore, a legal mechanism must be found to resolve the issue of the illegal construction that has been established so far." According to the minister, the most important thing that must be legalized urgently and urgently is the construction of lot 4 of Hemus, because otherwise it cannot be continued. He is even actively working for legal changes under two options - tolerance and legalization, in order to save the illegal construction of the motorway. During this period on 05.12.2022, in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, the future minister and at that time a deputy from the PPDB, Andrey Tsekov, stated: "Construction on the "Hemus" motorway and all contracts for current repair and maintenance were carried out without projects, without a construction permit, without construction supervision... The big problem of the state is how to put illegal construction worth billions into operation and how to pay for it". After taking up the post of minister, however, Andrey Tsekov interrupted Shishkov's efforts to save and amnesty illegal construction. According to Tsekov, with this project by Shishkov, Pandora's box could be opened. Thus, the topic of the illegal construction of the "Hemus" motorway under Minister Tsekov gradually died down. Although the same in his pre-election interview published in Factor.bg on 28.05.2024 again raises the topic and asks the question: "Why did GERB start illegal construction under the ZUT in sections 4 and 5 - established by acts of the DNSK?". Strange, Mr. Tsekov, but a fact! Sometimes there is, sometimes there is not illegal construction! According to the situation and interest! Under the next minister - Violeta Koritarova, this topic becomes taboo.
And as a finale to the saga of the illegal construction of the “Hemus“ motorway, the current Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov issued a construction permit N6 dated 04.02.2025 for part of the “problematic” lot 4 of the motorway. This provoked a hearing of the regional minister in the National Assembly on 28.02.2025, where Mr. Ivanov clearly and categorically stated: "According to the practice of the DNSK and the documents that I have established, neither for this section nor for any other of the “Hemus” motorway has illegal construction been found under the ZUT and no act of finding has been issued for such construction and for its suspension, neither during the caretaker government nor during the regular cabinets!" And as a cover for the four-year suggestion of illegal construction, imposed mostly by the ministers from the offices of President Radev - Komitova and Shishkov, the current minister draws the line at speculation by showing a protocol from 2021, according to which protocol the deputy minister of Violeta Komitova (whose name is delicately spared) took the recordings in question from the drone, with which the illegal construction was allegedly filmed, and the same did not return them to the ministry. It is also not clear where the DNSK protocols for illegal construction on lots 4 and 5 of the “Hemus“ motorway are, which Minister Violeta Komitova and the director of the DNSK Vladi Kalinov claim were issued in 2021. After this categorical position and the arguments of Mr. Ivan Ivanov, all those who claimed over the last 4 years that on the “Hemus“ motorway there is illegal construction they fell silent.
Dear Ms. Komitova and Ms. Karadjov, Shishkov and Tsekov, why did you deceive the institutions in the country and especially the people that construction is being carried out illegally on the "Hemus" motorway? Is this an attempt to justify your own inaction? Isn't this inaction criminal? Isn't this sabotage against a national site, such as the "Hemus" motorway? Doesn't this active four-year event pose a threat to national security? Are the missing drone recordings not in the possession of one of these former ministers, who was also a deputy minister in the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works of the Republic of Bulgaria? Why? Why? Why? You owe answers, ladies and gentlemen! You owe them to the people and to the prosecutor's office!