Last week before the start of the political season was marked with an avalanche of new appointments and resignations in key government agencies and departments. Surely they will all pump additional tension in an already tense situation in the country and what the benefits of these reshuffles may be are yet to see. Undoubtedly the most significant change is in the management the Road Infrastructure Agency .
Previous head Lazar Lazarov somewhat surprisingly, left his position as chairman of the board of the institution , although for now he remains on the Board as a regular member. In the industry it is said that the new regional minister Desislava Terzieva long sought ways for his dismissal, especially since in an interview Lazarov was unwise to say that he lacked previous PM Boyko Borissov.
However, Mr. Lazarov was left to complete major road projects – the completion of the highway Trakia’s section from Dolna Dikanya to Dupnitza, highway Struma and the junction between the Sofia ring road to the station Yana of the Hemus highway.
The successor to Lazarov will be Stefan Chaikov. Changes in the management of the road construction agency result from a policy of preserving and promoting professional start. I think that continuity is required. Engineer Chaikov comes from the business sector, was chairman of the industry association and for the present Government is essential to expand links with business and NGO sector. I’ll rely on his expertise and knowledge outside the system to expand the dialogue with professional organizations, said Minister Terzieva while presenting Mr. Chaikov .
However, his close links with the business could be a problem for the new boss. Engineer Chaikov did not leave the 12 companies in which he participates, according to a report from the Commercial Register. Moreover, some of these companies are now working on projects of the Road Infrastructure Agency. This puts him instantly in a situation of conflict of interests, wrote in his profile on Facebook GERB leader Boyko Borissov .
A check initiated by the BANKER found that Chaikov participates in the management of several companies related to road construction. Some of them are related to supervision of construction contracts. The most well-knonw is 3S, which controls the development of the western arc of the Sofia ringroad together with Patkonsult 2000 as well as a number of road sections financed with European funds. The other group of road construction companies in whose management Chaikov takes part are related to the design of roads. The most well-known among them is Patperfect. Mr. Chaikov laos has participation in companies associated with the introduction of innovative technologies in the road industry, such as new asphalt coatings.
This, of course, would be of no harm as long as Stefan Chaikov had submitted the relevant documents that he was leaving the management of these companies. This will become clear in a few weeks , once the updated information in the Commercial Register is published .
But for now it is clear that the work of Stephen Chaikov will be under scrutiny. He said he aims to draw up a long rehabilitation programme for repairs and preventive maintenance of national roads. A meeting with all institutions to prepare for the autumn-winter period is forthcoming as well as an overview of current projects funded by European funds.
Many other of the key changes took place in Bulgarian Investment Agency (BIA ). Executive Director Borislav Stefanov himself said on Facebook that he had submitted his resignation, but as a motive he had stated that for three months he had not been in position to make any contact with anyone from the government regarding work issues.
For his successor was appointed Svetoslav Mladenov, who on August 12, was appointed by the Minister of Economy Dragomir Stoynev as deputy head of BIA . A check with the information data bases showed that before that, he was on the board of the company Bellevue Property Management, dealing with the management of real estate property. It is owned by a British Virgin Islands firm Equest Group Ltd.
The BANKER
