On the day when the decision in Sofia or Burgas is expected to be “Eurovision 2027“, the municipal councilor and deputy chairman of VMRO Carlos Contrera uses a refrain from a song by the winner of the song contest Dara to describe the situation with the budget of the capital. He uses his Facebook page to illustrate the truly worrying situation.
In the middle of summer, at the last possible moment, PPDB begins a procedure for drawing down long-term municipal debt in the amount of 367 million euros. In a short, colorful presentation with three sentences per page, the Sofia Municipality proposes to take out a new debt one year before the end of the mandate, Contrera reports.
The impression is that the PPDB is playing for the last ten this mandate. So in practice, the next mayor (whoever he is) and the next composition of the Sofia Municipal Council will have to reckon with a huge debt. This undermines the next management mandate, and how the money will be spent will be predetermined, the municipal councilor from VMRO analyzes.
The explanation for all this is the idea of Mayor Terziev to provide 177 million euros with borrowed funds for investments in new vehicles, including 200 low-floor short and long gas and diesel buses. In general, it is correct, but the logic that these buses should only go to the “Druzhba“ garage is operational and technical madness. It is scandalous that no 12-meter electric buses are planned for the needs of the Sofia Metropolitan Transport (battery electric buses, which are currently operated on some of the lines).
Across Europe, public transport is moving towards the rapid introduction of electric buses, and Sofia does not plan a single penny of such investment for its bus transport, summarizes the picture, the deputy chairman of the Transport Commission in the Sofia Municipal Council.
And all this against the backdrop of the incident with the bus on Tsarigradsko Shosse a few days ago and the efforts to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people who will pour into Sofia if the capital becomes the host of “Eurovision 2027“. And all these people will rely on public transport, which for them will be something like a time machine and a game of “onche-bonche” whether they will be transported alive and well from point A to point B.
Once again, the piecemeal work and the chaotic throwing of projects without a clear connection and management logic are impressive. For example, the reconstructions of “James Boucher“ Blvd. and “Hristo Botev“ are included, but the boulevards “Petar Dertliev“ and “Iliensko Shose“ are missing, giving more examples of the lack of a comprehensive concept in Sofia Contrera's budget.
We attach the full text of Carlos Contrera's position on "Facebook":
This is what the financial policy of the Sofia Municipality looks like. In the middle of summer, at the last possible moment, the PPDB begins a procedure for drawing down long-term municipal debt in the amount of 367 million euros. In a short, colorful presentation with three sentences per page, the Sofia Municipality proposes that a new debt be drawn down one year before the end of the mandate.
The logic of seeking loan financing for infrastructure projects and new rolling stock for public transport is correct. The issue is not in the subject, but in the implementation.
The loan proposal was delayed for too long and the impression remains that the PPDB is playing for the last ten this mandate. So in practice, the next mayor (whoever he is) and the next composition of the Sofia Municipal Council will have to reckon with a huge debt. This undermines the next management mandate, and how the money will be spent will be predetermined.
As a value, I believe that the indicated amount of 367 million euros is excessive. The 40 million euros earmarked for sidewalks can be left for the next term. I say this from the perspective of the sad loan of 60 million euros, drawn with the support of GERB, DB and BSP in the last term. The money was spent with dubious effect and dubious quality with almost no accountability. This should not be allowed to happen again.
Mayor Terziev's idea is to use borrowed funds to secure 177 million euros for investments in new vehicles, including 200 low-floor short and long gas and diesel buses. In general, it is correct, but I question the logic of these buses going only to the "Druzhba" garage, which is operational and technical madness. It is scandalous that no plans are made to purchase 12-meter electric buses for the needs of the Sofia Public Transport (battery electric buses, which are currently operated on some of the lines).
Across Europe, public transport is moving towards a massive introduction of electric buses, and Sofia does not plan a single penny of such investment for its bus transport.
The planned investment projects deserve attention, but once again the piecemeal work and the chaotic throwing of projects without a clear connection and management logic are impressive. For example, the reconstructions of “James Boucher“ Blvd. and “Hristo Botev“ Blvd. are included, but the “Petar Dertliev“ and “Iliensko Shose“ boulevards are missing.
Once again, we are being pushed around by “Copenhagen“ Blvd. and “Iztochna Tangenta“, which have been waiting and waiting since 2024. In practice, it turns out that if it weren't for the loan, they wouldn't happen, which is indicative of what has been done for two years.
A weakness for me is that the money from the possible investment loan is intended to simply repave some boulevards - something that could be done with money from the budget. This shows the lack of vision and managerial desire to get the job done, and they are just waiting for some money to come and just repave some road sections before the 2027 local elections.
I interpret the inclusion of the reconstruction of “Lomsko Shose“ Blvd. - second stage (from the bridge to the Northern Expressway) as a positive sign. This is a much-needed project to unclog traffic in the western part of Sofia.
Big missing items in the investment loan projects are significant neighborhood streets such as “Letostruy“, “Ljubljana“, “Lazar Mihaylov“ Blvd., the unrepaired part of Chepinsko Shosse and other streets - part of the routes of mass urban transport and loaded with heavy traffic. There is not a single bridge facility scheduled for rehabilitation, and in Sofia we have over 300 bridges and overpasses, some of which have long been waiting for repairs and more than routine maintenance.
In practice, a large part of the loan should finance projects that began as procedures in 2022 and crashed after the 2023 local elections (for example, “Copenhagen“ Blvd. and “Iztochna Tangenta“ Blvd.).
The logic of taking a loan is clear. The question is what and how will this money be financed, because good intentions and a few short presentations alone will not get the job done. During this term of “I wanted it very much, but it didn't happen“ we have seen enough. We have also heard the promises “we start on Monday“. Hopefully my doubts will be refuted with facts, calculations and numbers!