Even a glimpse at the report to the transport sector’s budget for next year immediately shows a huge difference between the proceeds of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the costs that it will have. Its own revenue are forecast at BGN42.074 million, half of them – to come from state taxes collected in the system of transport and communications, a total of BGN16 million is the expected revenue from concessions, but still nearly 4 million will come from fines and sanctions. At the same time the Ministry will need to spend, transfer or coordinate a total of BGN2.482 billion, or about a billion more than a year earlier. Behind this bombastic amount largely stay the money that the country hopes to get from Brussels for the improving of the local infrastructure.
Firstly, it is appropriate to point out the lagging projects financed by ISPA. For example, completion of the second Danube bridge at Vidin-Calafat will take BGN49,678 million, only that the Commission has not yet approved an extension of the financial memorandum under the pre-accession programme up to 31 December 2012. That is, if extension is not received, one easily erase this considerable amount from the accounts of the next year.
Even more tragic is the situation
with the construction of a winter housing facility for 39 boats on the Danube river. The contract for its construction, worth BGN13.277 million, has been concluded on 29 December 2004 with a consortium Moststroy-Rossilex and an implementation deadline was December 31, 2006. The latter however, has been postponed continuously, so in 2012 it will need to be subsidized by the state with BGN3.1 million.
Among ventures that have been delayed for years are the reconstruction and electrification of railway line Plovdiv – Svilengrad. The signed contracts amounted to BGN446.4 million, but the deadline for ISPA funding expired on December 31, 2010, much of the money was lost and now the reconstruction is transferred back to the Transportation Programme. This operational programme will allocate funds for extension of the subway network in Sofia, the construction of combined transport terminals near the capital, the railway line Plovdiv – Burgas, Plovdiv and Sofia, as well as Vidin-Sofia, the completion of the highway Trakia, Maritza and Struma. For these and other projects of the kind more than BGN2 billion is projected to be spent.
However, one should not forget that for some of these projects – such as the completion of Trakia and Maritsa highways as well as the railway line Plovdiv – Burgas is funded by money from the fiscal reserve and whether Brussels will pay for them is not sure.
Practically, the
subsidy to be received by the State Railways
for performing its social function, is BGN170 million.
It is not at all sure whether these funds provided for passenger services will be paid in full, former transport minister and current MP Peter Mutafchiev told the BANKER weekly. The budget does not provide funds for the repair of tunnels in the country. The length of these facilities is more than 40 km and none of them meets the technical requirements and safety criteria of the European Union, added Mr. Mutafchiev.
