THE fate of the concession on Trakia highway remained unclear amid political accusations and shadow negotiations, which are both poised to turn the deal into one of the biggest controversies of 2005.
The local Bulgarian-language newspaper Pari reported on February 21, quoting unnamed sources, that Regional Development and Public Works Minister Valentin Tserovski had signed the concession contract on February 18.
The concession holder Avtomagistrala Trakia AD consortium is 51 per cent owned by the Portuguese companies MSF-Moniz da Maia, Serra&Fortunato-Empreteiros S.A., Lena Engenharia e Contrucoes S.A. and Somague Concesoers e Servicos S.A. Bulgarian state-owned construction firms Avomagistrali EAD and Technoexportstroy own 25 per cent and a 24 per cent stake respectively.
Although the news have not been confirmed by official sources yet, lawmakers said that the contract would most probably be cancelled by the National Assembly, due to the demand for appointment of an inquiry commission to probe into the feasibility of the Governments decision to choose this consortium.
The opposition has been fighting a series battle against the signing of the contract and on several occasions has demanded for the resignation of Tserovski. Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) said on February 18 that the granting of the concession for Trakia highway will cost Bulgarian taxpayers eight billion leva for the concession period of 35 years.
MPs from the DSB have seen documents pointing to such a negative result in their capacity as members of a special committee investigating the controversial draft concession contract.
The total sum of money that will be paid by motorists for using the highway in the period of 35 years is a little more than eight billion leva. The sum was calculated on the basis of a forecast traffic of 25 650 cars a day.
According to Evgeni Chachev from the DSB, the analysis provided by the Cabinet before making the concession decision showed that such traffic between Kalotina and Sofia could be reached no earlier than 2037.
Doubts exist on draft contracts correspondence to EU requirements regarding the charges on vehicles. EU legislation in this area prohibits that commercial vehicles over 12 tons be charged with both a vehicle fee and a toll charge.
Therefore the Government decided to free those types of vehicles from the toll charge and thus increased the financial burden on the state, which will have to pay compensations for this as well.
At the same time European Council Directive 99/62/EC (the so called Eurovignette Directive) is being renewed and its new provisions are expected to enter into force by the end of the year. Thus the road concession might face even more complex legislative and regulatory issues.
Meanwhile, Competition Protection Commission started an investigation of the selection procedure by virtue of which the Government determined the Magistrala Trakia consortium as the project contractor. The concession has been granted to the consortium without a tender or competition procedure and the purpose of the anti-trust authorities is to determine whether this constitutes state aid and whether it is deemed admissible.
The highway, which has a large section of it already built and used, is meant to link the Black Sea port of Bourgas with the Kalotina border crossing to Serbia. The consortium has agreed to invest a total of 715 million euro in highway construction and upgrades by 2009.
Business Staff
The local Bulgarian-language newspaper Pari reported on February 21, quoting unnamed sources, that Regional Development and Public Works Minister Valentin Tserovski had signed the concession contract on February 18.
The concession holder Avtomagistrala Trakia AD consortium is 51 per cent owned by the Portuguese companies MSF-Moniz da Maia, Serra&Fortunato-Empreteiros S.A., Lena Engenharia e Contrucoes S.A. and Somague Concesoers e Servicos S.A. Bulgarian state-owned construction firms Avomagistrali EAD and Technoexportstroy own 25 per cent and a 24 per cent stake respectively.
Although the news have not been confirmed by official sources yet, lawmakers said that the contract would most probably be cancelled by the National Assembly, due to the demand for appointment of an inquiry commission to probe into the feasibility of the Governments decision to choose this consortium.
The opposition has been fighting a series battle against the signing of the contract and on several occasions has demanded for the resignation of Tserovski. Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria (DSB) said on February 18 that the granting of the concession for Trakia highway will cost Bulgarian taxpayers eight billion leva for the concession period of 35 years.
MPs from the DSB have seen documents pointing to such a negative result in their capacity as members of a special committee investigating the controversial draft concession contract.
The total sum of money that will be paid by motorists for using the highway in the period of 35 years is a little more than eight billion leva. The sum was calculated on the basis of a forecast traffic of 25 650 cars a day.
According to Evgeni Chachev from the DSB, the analysis provided by the Cabinet before making the concession decision showed that such traffic between Kalotina and Sofia could be reached no earlier than 2037.
Doubts exist on draft contracts correspondence to EU requirements regarding the charges on vehicles. EU legislation in this area prohibits that commercial vehicles over 12 tons be charged with both a vehicle fee and a toll charge.
Therefore the Government decided to free those types of vehicles from the toll charge and thus increased the financial burden on the state, which will have to pay compensations for this as well.
At the same time European Council Directive 99/62/EC (the so called Eurovignette Directive) is being renewed and its new provisions are expected to enter into force by the end of the year. Thus the road concession might face even more complex legislative and regulatory issues.
Meanwhile, Competition Protection Commission started an investigation of the selection procedure by virtue of which the Government determined the Magistrala Trakia consortium as the project contractor. The concession has been granted to the consortium without a tender or competition procedure and the purpose of the anti-trust authorities is to determine whether this constitutes state aid and whether it is deemed admissible.
The highway, which has a large section of it already built and used, is meant to link the Black Sea port of Bourgas with the Kalotina border crossing to Serbia. The consortium has agreed to invest a total of 715 million euro in highway construction and upgrades by 2009.
Business Staff
