All the railway projects started have similar problems and they are related to poor planning as well as extremely cumbersome administrative procedures before the start of construction. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov during an inspection of railway sections of the Elin Pelin - Kostenets project under construction. The Minister inspected all three lots of the project on site.
In the minister's words, a comprehensive solution should be sought for the problems with the railway projects and not to act "piecemeal" for each individual section. "The more we delay the projects because of administrative obstacles, the more they become expensive and this puts a burden on the state budget in the long run," Minister Gvozdeykov said.
"We need legislation that eliminates lengthy procedures for strategically important infrastructure. That is why I will initiate talks with the relevant institutions for the creation of a special law for the construction of these objects," he was adamant.
Minister Gvozdeykov visited the newly built tunnel near Vacarel, with a length of almost 7 km. On site, the builders briefed the Minister on the construction of the site. They explained that about 1/3 of the tunnel has been completed but there are serious challenges due to the geological characteristics of the site. Currently, the builders are looking for a complex technical solution to the situation, which will be presented to the Minister and the management of the National Railway Company in the short term.
In the Vakarel-Ihtiman section, the physical progress is 20% and the work on the reception building of Ihtiman railway station is to be restarted soon. The railway section between Ihtiman and Kostenets already has construction permits for 99% of the route and is being actively worked on at several different sites.
The builders of all three sections raised the issue of the requested project indexations. It became clear that a meeting was to be arranged with the Ministry of Finance to discuss this matter in detail.
