site.btaMinister Ivanov: Roads in Critical Condition Require Funds that Cannot Be Provided in a Year

Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov spoke Wednesday at a conference on the “Vision Zero” road safety strategy during the United Nations Global Road Safety Week. “As a result from political decisions, or rather the lack of them, the delay in maintenance contracts puts us in a situation where the number of roads in critical condition requires a budget that cannot be provided within a year,” he said. 

According to him, the focus on the road safety problem is mainly on its visible aspects, including road infrastructure. There is no such facility that can overcome the lack of responsibility of drivers, the minister said. 

“As a country, we are obliged to ensure the comfort and safety of traffic on the roads,” Ivanov said, adding that there is a significant backlog of road maintenance in the country.

Nikolay Nankov, Chairman of the Committee on Regional Policy, Public Works and Local Self-Government in the 51st National Assembly, explained that road safety is made up of many complex factors. “There are important changes for traffic. These are the Road Traffic Act with all the proposals we are currently considering on first reading and all the regulations that depend on the regional committee in the National Assembly,” he said.