In Bulgaria, road construction and maintenance are carried out according to corruption schemes, after which the result is zero, and only corruption flourishes. This was stated to the Bulgarian National Radio by Violeta Komitova, MP from MECH, former acting Minister of Regional Development and Public Works.
According to her, that is why all comments related to the victims of the war on the roads are directed at the quality of the infrastructure, but the vehicle fleet and the training of drivers, pedestrians, the organization of traffic and control by the traffic police are also important:
"Road safety is not only about the road infrastructure, but other topics are not talked about, but only about the roads".
Between 1.5 and 2 billion leva per year are allocated from the state budget for current repair and maintenance of roads from 2019 to today, Komitova pointed out:
"If we divide the amount of 1.5 billion leva per year for 250 working days, means that per day we, the taxpayers, pay 6 million leva per day for mowing grass, filling potholes, for damaged road signs, for replacing pieces of guardrails and for repairing markings. This is a lot of money just for current repairs and maintenance of roads".
She calculated that for this money 6,000 vehicles should be on the republican road network per day, separately there is the municipal road network, for which the mayors are responsible:
"We give an awful lot of money for road maintenance, and the citizens are constantly dissatisfied. There are two main vices in these orders for maintenance and current repairs - overfunding, but zero result, and the contracts with the companies, which are 4-year, not one-year. ... And there appear some subscribed companies that always win public procurements".
A major repair project has been made for the road near Telish, Komitova pointed out:
"Two years go by and in 2024 there will be a ready technical project for this road with a construction permit. There has been negligence and irresponsibility that a public procurement for construction on this project has not been made, after it has been proven indisputably by several institutions that this section was very dangerous".
It is a terrible vice to order infrastructure projects for engineering, the former Minister of Regional Development emphasized:
"The government continues to order engineering, but why is there not a separate order for design? Because if this project will cost 3 billion leva, for example, the design will be 3 million leva. And out of 3 million, what advance will they give and what money will remain in the bags? The best thing would be 3 billion, to give one big advance and have it stay in the companies as an interest-free loan. And after 6 years - the camel, the camel driver. Given that it takes 6 years to get a construction permit. For the first sections of the "Hemus" highway, the PUPs began in 2013, and the construction permit is issued in 2019. We have created such laws in the state. ... This is the case with the Byala - Veliko Tarnovo road, for which 3 billion leva - 50 million have been allocated. leva per kilometer, but now it will not start construction, and the company will take the advance payment, while the construction permits will be waited for 4-5 years".
Violeta Komitova pointed out that the vote of no confidence in the government submitted by MECH is due to the lack of will among the ruling party to fight corruption:
"The goal is to draw the government's attention to the fact that we expect to see will and some actions against corruption".