site.btaUp to EUR 265 Mln Allocated under Regions in Growth Programme for Sofia Metro

Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Pekanov said at a briefing on Wednesday that investments in new sections of the Sofia Metro and new metro trains are a key element of the action plan to safeguard funding under the 2021-2027 Regions in Growth Operational Programme, with up to EUR 265 million allocated for the projects.

He added that the funding will cover both new rolling stock and the maintenance of the metro system.

He added that the measures to preserve funding under the programme also include financing for 75 electric buses, 50 trolleybuses and 20 trams. "These are important investments because, for better or worse, some of the trams are older than we are," he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Council of Ministers approved an action plan aimed at safeguarding funding under the Regions in Growth Programme and the Just Transition Fund. Pekanov noted that the two programmes have a combined budget of more than EUR 3 billion, with limited progress made in recent years.

He said Bulgaria must submit expenditure claims worth EUR 800 million to the European Commission by the end of 2026. Without the action plan adopted on Wednesday, the country would have irreversibly lost those funds because of the lack of strategic vision, decisions and action by previous governments, Pekanov added.