During a hearing at the National Assembly's relevant committee, the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Arch. Ivan Shishkov, clarified the current administration's plans for road infrastructure management, with a special focus on replacing compromised guardrails. The state-owned company "Avtomagistrali" has already acquired the necessary specialized equipment for installation work using its own funds. The company is expected to submit an official offer to the ministry within the next 10-15 days, in compliance with legal regulations. Responding to a question from Valeri Lachovski of GERB-SDS regarding plans following the cancellation of the previous public procurement procedure, the minister confirmed that it had been terminated due to suspicions of irregularities. Shishkov assured that the future proposal would be at a significantly lower cost than what was initially set in the cancelled tender.
According to Arch. Shishkov, "Avtomagistrali" will undertake the replacement of the guardrails until the state implements a more comprehensive and long-term solution to the problem. The administration's vision is for maintenance and replacement activities for these facilities to become an integral part of the general contracts for routine repair and maintenance of the national road network. The minister noted that it is illogical for the companies responsible for the state of the roads not to also be responsible for the guardrails. For this reason, in upcoming tenders and the signing of new contracts with contractors, guardrail maintenance will be included as a mandatory element. Since current contracts have reached their financial ceiling, Shishkov predicted that this will happen during the current winter. He added that, in the past, separating these activities appeared to be a deliberate lobbying policy, while also announcing that an analysis will be conducted to determine where it is more appropriate to install metal or concrete guardrails.
During the parliamentary control session, a number of other important topics were also discussed:
- Tanse Beiti from the DPS raised the issue of removing dead trees along roads. Arch. Shishkov explained that the matter is complex, as some of these trees are located on private property, while others have not died and are not subject to removal. He acknowledged that the topic remains in the focus of the Road Infrastructure Agency (API).
- In response to an inquiry from Rashko Dinkov ("Progressive Bulgaria") regarding an audit of the API, the minister presented data from the National Audit Office. According to the data, expenditures for routine repairs for 2025 amount to over 1 billion BGN (based on 940 certificates), while for periods before 2025, the amount is 165 million BGN (based on 77 certificates). Shishkov emphasized that these funds should have been paid in 2025, as the work was assigned, performed, and certified then. He categorically rejected allegations by Temenuzhka Petkova (GERB-SDS) regarding pressure exerted to create forged documents for transferring expenses, describing the claims as "grave fake news."
- Bogomil Petkov ("We Continue the Change") asked about the payment of bonuses in the form of additional material incentives (DMS) at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. Shishkov confirmed that funds had been distributed, but explicitly emphasized that the political cabinet had not received any. He reminded that under the previous administration, bonuses were twice as high and included members of the political cabinet as well.