Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications

The insufficient funding for maintenance of the road infrastructure is one of the main challenges the Bulgarian transport sector faces. The reason is mostly in the inefficient system of road transport charges, said the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Ivaylo Moskovski at the opening of the Ministerial Meeting for the development of road transport organized by the World Bank in Varna.

In his words, there are significant differences between the management of road infrastructure in Bulgaria and in the neighboring countries in the region. As an example Ivaylo Moskovski pointed out the transit tolls for the same distance of 400 km. In Bulgaria, the daily toll for trucks is about 10 euros, in Austria the price is about 142 euros, while in Slovenia and Germany - about 100 euros. "This is a very serious imbalance", said the Minister. 

The annual revenues from vignettes in Bulgaria are around 160 million levs, while the maintenance of the road network, along the main corridors, amounts to 600 million levs, said Minister Ivaylo Moskovski. This means that we are unable to maintain the network, let alone to invest and develop it without European funding, he added.

At the same time, he outlined another imbalance - between transit fees in road and rail sectors. For years, the fees in the railway sector have been based on ton / km for freight transportations and per kilometer for road transportations. The European Commission closely monitors the amount of infrastructure charges so as not allow hidden subsidizing of railways through lower fees. As a result, the railway transit fees are at European level while the road ones are much lower, said Minister Ivaylo Moskovski. According to him, this leads to the absurd situation of the rail cargo transportations through the country being several times more expensive than road transportations. Meanwhile, the preferred mode of transport in Europe is by rail.

According to Minister Moskovski currently there is double subsidization – once for maintenance of roads due to lower transit fees, and then for the railways, due to the lack of revenues from transportations.

The Transport Minister pointed out that the cost of maintenance of road infrastructure should be covered in a fair manner by those who use it and those who wear it out and cause pollution. The new tariffs must ensure fair competition between both modes of transport. This will ensure the effective use of resources and infrastructure.

"We have to find a methodology which allows the state to balance the revenues. These mechanisms may be related to the introduction of a remote toll collection system or a mixed system. This will allow the state to balance its policy when it comes to the construction and maintenance of the road network", concluded Minister Moskovski.