President Radev: Public Procurement in road construction sector should be brought to light

Bulgaria’s President on September 14 held a meeting with the management board of the Bulgarian Branch Chamber “Roads” and representatives of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber. The meeting was attended by caretaker Minister of Finance, Assen Vassilev.

Regardless of who runs the country, the workers are responsible for the work done and solutions must be sought, said Rumen Radev at a meeting with the Management Board of the Bulgarian Branch Chamber of Roads and representatives of the Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria. The caretaker Minister of Finance Asen Vassilev also took part in the meeting

According to the President, connectivity and a developed transport infrastructure are the basis of the economic and social development of any society. Therefore, the whole public procurement, signing of contracts and payment process in the road maintenance and road construction sector should be brought to light,

Radev underlined that the previous government's practice to systematically circumvent the State Budget Act through Decrees of the Council of Ministers should be stopped. "The public procurement procedures must be clean, based on fair competition, and the contracts must be concluded at their real price," he
said.

The head of state called for the termination of the practice of exceeding the value of a concluded contract after an already conducted public procurement though the inclusion of new activities.

"Regardless of who governs, the state is responsible for the work done by the workers and sustainable solutions must be sought to solve the problems," Rumen Radev added.

He also highlighted the need for transparent formation of the budget of the Road Infrastructure Agency, so that the funds that will be allocated for road maintenance and construction activities during the year are clear.

The Bulgarian Branch Chamber “Roads” said the huge debt which the government owes to road maintenance and road construction companies creates much tension in the sector. They expressed readiness for dialogue with the caretaker government in order to find a viable solution. They said that the award of contracts for maintenance or construction of national roads has been practically suspended.

image by BGNES