2024-04-18 13:02:30
“It has been organized to start the rhythmic process of signing agreements with the municipalities from next week. It is important for us that local administrations begin the implementation of their projects as quickly as possible”. This was announced by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Eng. Violeta Koritarova during a hearing in the National Assembly on the implementation of the Investment Program for municipal projects financed from the national budget. We held a conversation with the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria in connection with the returned over 200 agreements due to identified gaps, from where we received assurance that they will cooperate to bring them in as quickly as possible,” the minister added.
Violeta Koritarova informed that as of April 10, 1,302 applications from the municipalities had been received by the MRRD. Of these, 723 have been signed with a total value of over BGN 1.9 billion. Over 200 of the received applications are under consideration, with more than 50 correctly submitted and meeting the conditions for signing. The largest number of agreements were concluded for the repair of municipal streets and sidewalks – a total of 261 worth BGN 440 million. Next were the projects for water supply facilities – 158, worth approximately BGN 500 million. In this regard, Minister Koritarova expressed surprise that the mayor of The municipality of Rodopi has not submitted to the MRRD the needs of sites for the repair of the water supply infrastructure in the village of Brestovitsa, where the residents have problems with the quality of the water, and at the same time talks about the lack of state funding on the condition that such was provided yesterday for the rehabilitation of the pressure supply plumbing. This was announced by the press center of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
For the reconstruction of municipal roads, there are currently 120 agreements for BGN 441 million. For improvement activities (improvement of inter-block spaces, construction of parking lots, repair of city parks and squares), 81 agreements have been signed for BGN 201 million. For the repair of community centers , kindergartens, etc. municipal buildings, the agreements are 61 with a value of BGN 154 million. For sports infrastructure, 34 agreements were concluded for BGN 167 million and 8 agreements with a different investment subject than those listed, with a total value of BGN 16 million. With PMS 27 of 22.02.2024 d. an additional transfer was approved under the budget of MRRD in the amount of up to BGN 400 million for financing projects under the Investment Program for Municipal Projects.
The minister announced that over BGN 6.5 million were the approved advances by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works to municipalities for the implementation of different types of infrastructure projects as of April 10, and as of April 10, 31 requests for payments had been received.
“The interest in the progress of the implementation of the investment program for municipal projects, included in Appendix No. 3 to Art. 107, para. 13 of the Law on the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2024, is fully explainable and in sync with the agenda of Bulgarian citizens by region. Thanks to the initiative of the deputies, for the first time a program of such importance and volume was included in the budget, which will tangibly improve people’s lives”, stressed Eng. Koritarova.
In order to ensure the implementation of the program, the Department “Municipal Projects and Public Works” was established in the Ministry under the Directorate “Water Supply and Sewerage and Public Works”. He is directly involved in examining applications received from municipalities, checking the scope of activities. “It is important to note that the MRRD does not rank projects, but checks them for compliance with the legal provisions”, emphasized the regional minister. Eng. Koritarova added that given the upcoming huge amount of work on the administration of the program – reporting and project management, as well and submission of more projects to the municipalities with the amendment of the Law on the State Budget, strengthening of the capacity of the Directorate is foreseen.
Minister Koritarova also said that from the work done so far, the generalization can be made that approximately 20% or about 250 of the received applications have identified omissions and inaccuracies. Most often, investment projects are presented without the signatures and seals of the participants in the investment process, there is no information about the date of entry into force of the presented construction permits, there is no opinion of the chief architect, etc. In order to remove them, letters are sent to the municipalities to take actions for additions and corrections.
She added that all documentation related to the implementation of the agreements, including documents proving the payments made, should be submitted by the municipalities to the Information System for the Management and Monitoring of European Union Funds in Bulgaria (ISUN). Currently, the developed section for the investment program is in a test environment.
The Minister reminded that it is possible to make changes to Appendix No. 3 by March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2024.
The regional minister informed the people’s representatives that she also held a meeting with the leadership of the Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria, where she discussed the possibilities and capacity of the construction companies to start work on the implementation of the approved projects. The Chamber has declared its readiness, as long as the municipalities promptly carry out the procedures under the Public Procurement Act and conclude contracts.