Prosecutors Investigate Construction of Lot 4 of Hemus Motorway Following Referral from Minister of Regional Development

Regional Development Minister, Ivan Shishkov, has submitted information to the Prosecutor's Office concerning the construction of Lot 4 of the Hemus Motorway, the state prosecution service has announced.

As a result, an investigation has been launched into alleged mismanagement at the state-owned company Avtomagistrali, as well as the suspected misuse of public funds in connection with payments for the construction of the motorway section.

According to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, irregularities and delays have been identified in the construction of motorways and roads. The ministry said that changes to the methodology used in public procurement procedures could have led the state to pay more than 800 million leva for the Hemus Motorway, over 200 million leva for the Vidin–Botevgrad expressway, and more than 180 million leva for landslide-related projects — a total of more than 1.2 billion leva.

Meanwhile, the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office reported receiving three separate referrals from the regional ministry concerning alleged irregularities related to the Hemus Motorway, including maintenance contracts and a public procurement procedure for road restraint systems.

Ivan Shishkov, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works:"These are the funds we saved. Let us state it clearly and summarise: 1.2 billion leva, or around 600 million euros, are the funds we preserved because, on the second day of our cabinet's term, we identified this indexation mechanism and ordered it to be halted. This was not broad daylight robbery; it was a governmental plunder carried out by a former government."

Minister Shishkov is scheduled to appear tomorrow on the Bulgarian National Television morning programme The Day Begins.