VZCZCXRO0474
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHSF #0694/01 3421439
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 081439Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6527
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SOFIA 000694 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: GOVERNMENT TAKES ON ROADS 
 
Classified By: Classified By: CDA Susan Sutton for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
(d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: One of the most visible results of years of 
weak governance and corruption in Bulgaria is the condition 
of the road network.  Roads are in poor repair, congested, 
and among the most dangerous in the EU.  Not one highway has 
been completed in the past several decades despite promises 
from the government and the availability of EU financing. 
Recognizing the importance of the highway system, the new 
government has made roads a priority and promises to complete 
three highways by the end of its mandate in 2013.  Success 
will require determined political leadership and a fight 
against a tradition of embezzlement in public road 
contracting.  End summary. 
 
 
Roads to Nowhere 
---------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The poor condition of Bulgaria's roads is a 
frequent complaint of both residents and visitors. 
Trabant-sized potholes are commonplace, rarely repaired 
quickly, with streetlights few and far-between.  Exacerbating 
the situation, the highway system is incomplete and 
inadequate, and drivers are aggressive.  As a result, 
Bulgaria has one of the highest road fatality rates in the 
EU, approximately 150 fatalities per million inhabitants each 
year, twice the EU average.  But while the EU-wide road 
fatality rate has declined significantly in the last 10 
years, Bulgaria's has remained constant.  One reason is the 
rapid rise of personal car ownership and an increase in 
EU-bound heavy truck traffic from Turkey and Greece that has 
outpaced improvements in roadways, particularly highways. 
The resulting congestion, including lines of heavy trucks, 
along winding, two-lane roads leads many drivers to 
frustration and road rage.  The mix of old and new model cars 
on the roads adds to the danger.  Top model imports dodge 
around Communist-era Ladas barely able to reach the posted 
highway speed limit.  When the ubiquitous horse-drawn carts 
and occasional wandering cow on Sofia's equivalent of the 
Capitol Beltway are added to the mix, you have a recipe for 
disaster.  Meanwhile, drivers of high end vehicles perpetuate 
the culture of impunity by breaking the rules and driving 
recklessly, fearing neither the fines nor bribes should the 
police stop them. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Bulgaria has a long established plan for a modern, 
divided highway system to facilitate commerce and relieve 
road congestion.  Several major highways have been under 
construction for years, but the pace is excruciatingly slow. 
In fact, Bulgaria is the only EU country lacking a single 
completed highway.  Between 1990 and 2006, only 150 
kilometers of highways were built in Bulgaria, fewer than 10 
kilometers per year, despite the availability of EU 
financing.  The stretches of highway that do exist start and 
stop haphazardly, resulting in a patchwork of modern highway 
and rural two lane roads.  The Trakiya Highway, which is 
supposed to connect the Black Sea port of Burgas to Sofia, 
highlights the failures to realize a functional highway 
system.  Construction on Trakiya began in 1975 but only 240 
of the 360 kilometer total are currently in operation. 
Governments regularly promise its completion by the end of 
their mandate, yet virtually no work has been completed 
during the last two successive governments.  Most attribute 
the failure of Trakiya to constant and large scale 
embezzlement. 
 
 
Corruption and Poor Governance Prevent Progress 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶4.  (C) The failure to maintain safe road conditions and make 
meaningful progress on the highway system is a highly visible 
result of years of poor governance, corruption, and low 
administrative capacity at the National Road Infrastructure 
Fund (NRIF).  One problem at the NRIF was a lack of capacity 
to absorb large amounts of EU aid money.  While many EU 
member states experienced difficulties with the timely 
implementation of EU funds designated specifically for large 
infrastructure projects, Bulgaria has been particularly slow. 
 Corruption scandals brought the already slow pace of EU 
funds absorption and road construction to a complete halt. 
In January 2008, EU anti-fraud investigators uncovered that 
the executive director of NRIF approved millions in road 
construction contracts to firms owned by his brothers.  He 
resigned a month later, and has since been charged with abuse 
of power.  At the same time, two senior NRIF officials 
responsible for the implementation of EU funds were arrested 
and charged with accepting bribes.  In addition, post 
contacts tell us that EU fraud investigators were physically 
 
SOFIA 00000694  002 OF 002 
 
 
threatened when investigating road-related corruption under 
the previous government.  These scandals contributed 
significantly to the unprecedented freezing of pre-accession 
funding in 2008 and seriously damaged Bulgaria's reputation 
in the EU.  Thanks to the first efforts of the new 
government, some funding has since been restored, following 
reforms at the agencies that receive EU funds.  In November 
2009, the Finance Ministry declassified the financial audit 
of NRIF, indicating a shift to more governmental 
transparency. 
 
 
New Government Focuses On Roads 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) The GERB government has made highway construction a 
priority, boldly promising the completion of three highways 
by the end of its mandate in 2013.  This represents over 200 
kilometers of new highway construction in four years by one 
government, an unprecedented feat in Bulgaria.  In October 
2009, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov announced that the EU 
will fund Bulgaria's Black Sea Highway, an extension of the 
southern Trakiya Highway.  The Black Sea Highway is set to 
connect Burgas and Varna along the Black Sea coast, serving 
as an intercontinental connection between Europe and Asia. 
Success would mean a continuous, divided highway from either 
Burgas or the Turkish border to the Serbian border.  This 
would facilitate both international trade and local commerce, 
reduce congestion and choke points where highways abruptly 
end, and ultimately make driving conditions safer in 
Bulgaria.  Rossen Plevneliev, Minister of Regional 
Development, is overseeing the implementation of the 
government's highway plan.  He has clearly staked his 
reputation on delivery of the GERB government's road 
projects. 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (C) By focusing on roads, the GERB government has chosen 
a highly visible and clearly measurable benchmark for judging 
success and failure.  The political stakes are high.  Since 
assuming power in July, the GERB government has faced the 
same challenges as its failed predecessors and there have 
already been delays.  Bureaucratic snafus stalled 
construction of the 32-kilometer Stara Zagora swath of the 
Trakiya Highway, which was set to begin in September. 
Nevertheless, there appears to be a significant break from 
"business as usual" highway politics.  Minister of Regional 
Development Plevneliev, aka "Minister of Roads," recently 
asked Transparency International to be an independent arbiter 
of the bidding process for a portion of the Trakiya Highway, 
a test case to combat future corruption.  GERB has clearly 
chosen the high road, but the trip is likely to be long and 
bumpy. 
SUTTON