For three years, no solution has been found for the construction of the longest railway tunnel in Bulgaria – the one near Vakarel. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov during an inspection of the three sections of the Elin Pelin – Kostenets railway line. The Chairman of the Transport and Communications Committee in the National Assembly, Kiril Dobrev, also participated in the inspection.
"Obviously, there is a significant delay and countless problems that have been postponed over time by previous ministers. Three years ago, reinforcement activities began, which had an effect, but not fully. This necessitates a third design, which is currently being implemented, and the contractor states that there are no deformations so far. We expect to know by the end of May whether it is working," explained Deputy Prime Minister Karadzhov.
"The limits for unforeseen work activities have been reached, which means that they have been used jointly with the European program that funds it, as well as with an annex concluded a year ago. The resources are already exhausted, and if we do not find an urgent solution, the continuation of this project is practically at stake," said Grozdan Karadzhov.
He noted that according to preliminary data, it is a matter of a very serious redesign of the project, and a new procedure will probably be necessary, which should be conducted without stopping the work on the existing tunnels. The physical progress of the entire section is 40%. "We are trying to solve the puzzle so that we can meet the deadlines because the funds from the European program are available until 2030. The goal is to put the tunnel into operation in 2029 so that trains can travel faster," added the Transport Minister. Grozdan Karadzhov pointed out that urgent action is needed in the shortest possible time to find a legal and financial solution.
Minister Karadzhov and the Chairman of the Transport Committee in the National Assembly, Kiril Dobrev, also became acquainted on-site with the construction of the second section between Ihtiman and Mirovo. "Unlike lot 1, where there are serious problems, there are no such problems in lot 2. The lot is being completed on time, and the line will be ready by 2028," emphasized the minister.
Regarding the third section between Mirovo and Kostenets, the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the work on the route is going well. "We have a completion of about 30% under extremely difficult working conditions and with extremely complex facilities. It concerns eight single-tube tunnels with a very large diameter to accommodate two railway lines inside. It also concerns 11 bridge structures and two viaducts. By all indications, most likely by the end of 2029, this will be a functioning railway line," said the Deputy Prime Minister.
During the inspections, Minister Karadzhov discussed with the builders that the delay of two, three years after the signing of contracts for infrastructure projects is due to complex administrative procedures. These include expropriation of properties, court appeals, issuance of construction and environmental permits, as well as an EIA. These processes require time for coordination and finalization of project documentation.
"One of the goals I set for myself is to simplify the procedures so that infrastructure construction can be carried out within four, a maximum of five years. Currently, there is not enough time, even if the actual construction work begins. Some of the projects were in tender procedures in 2018–2019. Now it is 2025, and only for a little over a year has actual work been done here. All the other time has been lost in numerous slow procedures," stated Karadzhov.
