Full design work has started on the Ruse–Makaza motorway, regional development minister Ivan Shishkov said in Haskovo, calling it Bulgaria's most important north-south route.
Shishkov said the state will help pay for all water and sewage projects that already have a building permit, whether the money comes from the national budget or EU programmes. He added that checks on construction tenders are coming.
Five days ago, workers began an emergency job to replace damaged guardrails. "A lack of money for road infrastructure right now doesn't mean people in Bulgaria should live like it's the Stone Age," the minister said.
The meeting at Haskovo's regional administration was part of the national "The Regions Speak" initiative and focused mainly on regional development, infrastructure and water supply. Regional governor Todor Ivanov had invited mayors from across the region, and Venelin Shakov, chief executive of Vik Holding, also took part.
Also there were the heads of Haskovo's regional directorate for national construction control, the Haskovo water utility, the regional roads office and the geodesy, cartography and land registry office.
Shishkov said every region has its own problems that need fixing in the short, medium and long term. He pointed to Haskovo's serious demographic problem and said steps are needed to improve people's quality of life. Comparing the state's findings with what local authorities have found themselves, he said, could speed up real action.
Before the meeting, the minister checked on progress at Haskovo's Atanas Sharenkov city art gallery, which is being restored with EU funding.