The opposition is making new serious accusations against Radev's government. According to critics, the cabinet has frozen the contract with "Botaş" and is preparing a large-scale scheme to give nearly 800 kilometers of highway projects to concession to Turkish companies.
Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov categorically rejects such claims. "It is as if the opposition has started to overdo it with the fabrications and all these accusations it is making. For years, our road infrastructure was suffering because - firstly, there was no design, and secondly - there was no construction. When we came out and said, even before the elections, that we have to build another 800 km of highways that have not started to be built, we said very clearly that there is no money for them, but we will design them and give them to concession", said Shishkov in the studio of "Denyat ON AIR".
He emphasized that so far they have kept exactly what they said.
"We have not lied to anyone, we have said very clearly how it will happen - what is happening throughout Europe will start to happen in Bulgaria. When we have a transparent way, we will have no doubt who stole the asphalt, whether it is of sufficient quality, whether the highways are good for us. The most logical thing is for the future concessionaires to build these sites qualitatively, because they will have to exploit them for a certain period of time. There are two types of concessions, but at the moment this is not the topic. You know that the procedure for a bridge has been initiated on the Black Sea Highway," the minister added.
"The Black Sea Highway, in order to have its meaning, must start from the border with Romania, connect the cities of Burgas and Varna - which is currently being done, and of course, reach Malko Tarnovo. Last week I visited the Malko Tarnovo checkpoint to see for myself the capabilities of the checkpoint itself, because this highway will end at this checkpoint and we need to make improvements at the checkpoint. This is the point. When we say that there must be connectivity from border to border and when this is not only not built, but also not designed, it means that we need to design it and do it," the guest explained. Shishkov is adamant that the government is following the "marked steps".
"The concessionaires will be selected transparently - the one who is interested as a concessionaire and offers the best conditions will command. We will make detailed plans, we will expropriate the terrains and then we will offer to build the highways on the expropriated terrains. And when we do that, we will have to receive the best proposals and conclude a contract based on the best proposal. There are no preliminary agreements, it is clear. The countries around us are starting to be the most impatient", the regional minister emphasized.
"We have not built our highways and all citizens who want to pass from Romania through Bulgaria to Greece or Turkey are suffering. There can be any number of companies. For "Botas" what is being done at the moment is an elementary lie that is being spread around. If there was such an agreement, there would be deadlines in it. No one asked me about deadlines, nor did anyone inform me that there were such deadlines. At the moment, the opposition is trying to distort the truth in every way, to put clichés on everything good and to try to attack us, the rulers. Whether this is worthy or not - everyone will have to make their own judgment", added Ivan Shishkov.
"Currently, they are linking the contract with "Botaş" with Turkey's interest in this highway. This means that since the countries around us are interested in building these routes, it means that we are very behind in the development of our infrastructure. I ask the opposition, which in various forms ruled the country - where were you in those years ago? These are 15 years of lies, fraud, theft in the road sector and no infrastructure. The deadlines we have set ourselves are to have the projects, the detailed development plans, to be in the expropriation procedure or to have expropriated them by the end of next year," he further commented.
Shishkov added that a project that will reach Makaza must be made right now.
"Now they may start commenting on how the Greek side wants us to give it this corridor because it is important. There are so many things in this country - extremely important corridors, extremely important European corridors for these great Euro-Atlantics who beat their chests, talked about everything. But they didn't do the most basic thing. With the absence of the highways and the absence of this connectivity, we are not using the opportunities of being in Schengen, and we are starting to struggle", he was categorical. According to the minister, each highway will have a different interest in being built on a concession.
"Concessions have two options - one option is that the concessionaire builds it, uses the facility itself and it is paid for. The other option of the concession is that if the traffic is not large enough in the first years, there is an additional payment to the state in a certain option. Until now, we have been paying for the illusion. We paid for "Hemus". Just from the moment the contracts were signed, without there being any possibility of building - "Hemus" and "the path of shame" - the highway to Vidin, we all, through the state company "Automagistrali", have paid 50 million euros. The illusion that we are building. Because large advances were paid, that large contracts were signed, without any reason to sign them, because there was no construction permit and there was no possibility of construction. Because the construction companies did not fulfill their commitments such as deadlines where they were supposed to, we have all paid 50 million euros so far," he revealed.
"50 million euros is only worth this part of the negligence of the highways. It is better for those who use them to pay for them, rather than for the entire Bulgarian people to pay for them and for us to pay them into certain pockets of people who have done nothing for it - neither built the highways nor done anything. At the moment, they are changing their behavior extremely much - we forgot about the annexes for the advances, an attempt was made to index the advances, it would have cost us 1.2 billion leva at that time. We are no longer talking about this topic. We are clearing up the problem by saying that it will have to be built at different prices. The construction companies also took out insurance, they took some advances, but for some of them they gave money for insurance", explained Ivan Shishkov.
It turns out that canceling the contracts means losing advances and losing the money given.
"At some point, it will turn out that not only will we not have a highway, but we will also lose the money. And now we ask the question - are they our favorite companies or are we obliged to protect the interests of Bulgaria. We must protect the interests of Bulgaria, and it is clear. We came with a clear commitment - to complete what was bequeathed, not to love or hate. And the more we dig into the bequeathed, the more and more things come out that it turns out that we, the Bulgarian citizens, have paid for. And most likely it is a matter of a lot of lost money, because by now the real construction has become many times more expensive", he was categorical. Asked when the "Hemus" motorway will be ready: "The idea is for 2 and a half years, maximum 3, "Hemus" must be completed to Veliko Tarnovo. As a regional minister, I have assigned a law firm to conduct a full analysis of the situation. We must save the infrastructure sites, because this is not only "Hemus" - the road from Montana to Vidin is in the same situation".
"If you stop a construction at one point, as it has been stopped many times, it both starts to become more expensive and there starts to be a problem with its quality. On August 24, we will have a decision on where we are going, we have already had talks with the construction industry. We will say what we have agreed on, what is better. But things are starting to change in favor of the state", he concluded.
According to him, the illegal city in Varna has shown "the fall of institutions". "We believe that within the next year, but by the end, there should be a project and construction should begin. The project is the one that will be able to show how long it will take to be built. We want it to be built within the next 2 and a half years", explained Ivan Shishkov.