site.btaUPDATED State Owes Sofia Municipality Nearly BGN 19 Mln, Mayor Says

The Bulgarian State owes Sofia Municipality nearly BGN 19 million in aggregate, Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said here on Friday.

The Regional Development and Public Works Ministry has been delaying for months payments of amounts due to the capital city's local authority under the municipal financing programme, Terziev emphasized, specifying that this delay affects key infrastructure projects. 

"As Mayor of Sofia, I will not tolerate political games blocking the development of the capital. I will insist on a full and timely disbursement of the funds to which Sofia's residents are entitled," Terziev pointed out. "I refuse to accept Sofia being penalized because I haven't had my picture taken under the coat of arms in a certain office," he added, apparently referring to a recent series of occasions in which mayors and other senior officials have switched party allegiances to side with Delyan Peevski's Movement for Rights and Freedoms.

He noted that since the beginning of 2025, Sofia Municipality has received just under BGN 100,000 from the Ministry and as few as five agreements for projects in the boroughs of Pancharevo, Bankya and Mladost.

A total of 156 projects of Sofia Municipality under the 2025 State Budget Act, but only 59 agreements have been signed.

In 2024, City Hall claimed BGN 11 million in payments but only half of this amount was disbursed. Another BGN 43,000 of the payments claimed last year were credited to the municipality's account as late as in July 2025.

In 2025, the municipality claimed another BGN 13.5 million but has so far received only BGN 54,000.

"Any delay undermines the implementation of important projects, including kindergartens, schools, repairs and infrastructure, on which the quality of life in the city depends," the Mayor argued. He pointed out that the deadline for considering documents under signed project-funding agreements is 10 days for an advance payment and 20 days for an interim payment. Terziev insisted that the Ministry persistently fails to keep these deadlines.