By the end of 2009, all tenders financed under the World Bank assistance programme will be launched. The first of the projects scheduled for construction has been designated as lot eight, or the lot of the southwest sector comprising the section Gotse Delchev – and the village of Pirin, at a total length of 33 km, Stroitelstvo Gradut reports.

The total length of the aforementioned sections is 65 km. All tender documentations have been filed, pending approval, with the launch date being designated as April.

The second part of lot eight is the segment of motorway stretching from the town of Petrich to Kulata, on the border with Greece, 31.4 km in length.

World Bank funding has covered 75 per cent of the project's total cost. The evaluation commission is currently performing a selection process to determine the candidates for the construction of lots four, Sofia – Pirdop and lot six Shoumen – Preslav. In both of those tenders a  Bulgarian company, Putinvest Engineering AD, has offered the lowest bid.

Furthermore, lots five and nine are to commence construction, with lot five consisting of the south-central sector of  Pirdop – Karlovo – Kalofer, 22 km in length and the 16.5km section from Chirpan to Filevo.

The construction will also see the installation of a bridge over the Maritza river near Filevo. Lot nine is the new group of projects for the section of motorway between Bourgas – Malko Turnovo.

Currently five tenders have been launched by the programme, three of them being subcontractors which were awarded the work and are subsequently waiting to start construction. Two more lots are undergoing selection for a construction company.