site.btaPublic Works Minister: First Three Hemus Motorway Lots Construction Resumed

The construction of the first three sections of the Hemus motorway has been resumed. By the end of the month the section between the road junctions "Buhovtsi" and "Belokopitovo" will be launched, said caretaker Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Shishkov on Tuesday during an inspection of section 3 of the Hemus motorway.

The inspection was also attended by Deputy Minister Zahari Hristov, Chairman of the Management Board of the Road Infrastructure Agency Ivo Ivanov, and Executive Director of road construction company Avtomagistrali EAD Ivan Stanchev.

According to the Minister, payment has already been made for the major infrastructure projects. "We have pulled these infrastructure projects out of the economic coma they were in. Unfortunately, at the time when construction was going on at a much slower pace, especially in this lot, there were amendments to the project documents that had to be done and approved. Now that we are paying off the site and it can go ahead, it turns out that these amendments are not ready yet," Shishkov said.

He added that for several of the bridge structures, it was concluded that the design needed to be changed to better fit the existing terrain. He felt that a lot of time was wasted doing so. "Those projects which have been bogged down will be looked into as quickly as possible and if all is well, they will be approved," the minister said.