site.btaSofia Metro Line 3 Extension Inspected Ahead of Summer Launch

A new section of Metro Line 3 in the Poduyane borough of Sofia was inspected on Monday. Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev, CEO of Metropolitan Sofia JSC Nikolay Naydenov, Minister of Transport and Communications Korman Ismailov, municipal councillors and MPs joined the check.

The section is approximately 3 km long and has three Metro stations: Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Vitinya, and Gen. Vladimir Vazov. Construction work has been completed, and train testing is currently underway. The extension is expected to serve approximately 45,000 passengers daily.

Transport Minister Korman Ismailov said that the government consistently supports the development of the Metro and transportation infrastructure. "The state has been actively involved with funding and support since the start of the project during the 2014 programming period to the present," Ismailov said. According to him, such projects require consistency and should not be influenced by the political climate. Ismailov added that this applies not only to the Metro but also to the development of the country’s railway infrastructure, ports, and airports.

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev said that the three new stations are expected to be put into operation by the end of the summer. The mayor noted that this section was among the most complex to implement due to several engineering challenges, including groundwater and flooding problems that had to be addressed during construction. 

“When you see such a modern and beautiful project, you don’t realize how many engineering challenges have been solved,” Terziev said. He also pointed out the difficulties in securing financing, as Metro construction is extremely expensive. According to him, the Metro is the backbone of transportation in the capital and its expansion should be a top priority for any city administration.

According to Metropolitan JSC Director Nikolay Naydenov, the extension of the third Metro line in Sofia's Poduyane region is an example of a successfully implemented strategic infrastructure project. Naydenov stated that the value of the project in Poduyane amounts to EUR 284 million, but more importantly, the funds have been utilised efficiently and on time. “When there are strategic projects, when the Republic of Bulgaria is united around a single goal, there are no former ministers, no former mayors. The previous and the current authorities are working in sync and the funds are being utilised in the best possible way,” Naydenov said.

He emphasized that the project is being implemented under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, which, according to him, is among the most restrictive funding mechanisms over the past 20 years and is extremely difficult to implement.