The World Bank will advise Bulgarian road agency in the development of a road strategy

The Bulgarian Road Infrastructure Agency (API) will partner with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in developing a Strategy for the development of road infrastructure in the country and generating revenue from a toll system. For this purpose, the Bulgarian government approved a draft agreement for the provision of consulting services between the two institutions.

The agreement is related to the implementation of a project financed by the "Transport Connectivity" Program 2021-2027 within the framework of a tender under priority number 5, known as "Technical assistance".

The agreement includes activities related to the preparation of a Road Infrastructure Development Strategy, integration of the national into the European network, increasing the safety of the road infrastructure and effective management of the road sector, development of potential measures to improve the institutional effectiveness and efficiency of the activities of API, as well as providing recommendations for improving the e-toll system and for road users in relation to electronic toll collection.

The activities under the agreement between API and the World Bank are categorized into three components:

• Consulting for the preparation of the Road Infrastructure Development Strategy in the Republic of Bulgaria 2024-2030;
• Consulting and information provision to API regarding implementation of the road strategy and improvement of institutional efficiency;
• Consulting to improve revenue generation strategies for the Bulgarian road network.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov