Vazrazhdane's parliamentary group has called on all political parties to join forces to finish the Hemus motorway. MP Kosta Stoyanov read the group's declaration from the rostrum of the National Assembly.

The party wants a firm schedule for every unfinished section, secured funding, a public report on construction and control over spending. Stoyanov also asked for the backlog of problems with projects, documents and contracts to be resolved. Construction must continue no matter which government is in power, he said.

The first sod of Hemus was turned 52 years ago, and the anniversary fell at the start of October. The MP said the route is not even half finished, and northern Bulgaria has had no main motorway link for more than half a century.

"And we are not building the Great Wall of China. We are building 425 km from Sofia to Varna," Stoyanov said. He said the world is planning missions to Mars and working on artificial intelligence and technologies that until recently were seen as science fiction. Yet here, he said, "our modest dream is a motorway that can be built in less than a century."

Stoyanov said that over the years Hemus has become a project that is passed from one government to the next. Among the reasons given for the delay, he said, there is always one: there is no money. The same is said about roads, hospitals, doctors and nurses, social benefits, families, older people and people with disabilities.

The delay costs the region missed chances and leaves it behind, he said. The MP also pointed to the busy roads between Sofia and Varna, where crashes kill people, while motorways are the safest.

"At this rate, we will have to launch a donation-by-text campaign to raise money for the state," he said.