Minister Shishkov declares ‘code red’ for roads across northern Bulgaria
Regional Development Minister Shishkov says road contracts were awarded without secured funding and calls for a real investigation into the Road Infrastructure Agency.
Symbolic image · Photo: Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov has declared a “code red” for infrastructure across northern Bulgaria. Speaking on BNT's morning programme, he said much of the country's road work had been contracted without secured funding: “That is the whole truth.” He cited the Hrabrovo–Provadiya road, whose condition has sparked protests. Funding is only partly in place; the contractor has committed to finishing the job, and the state will pay when money is available. The road is due to be completed in late 2026 or early 2027.
On the Road Infrastructure Agency (API), Shishkov said: “At this moment the API is not a slush fund, but we all have doubts whether it has been one.” He pointed to the Hemus motorway and advance payments made, and called for a genuine investigation. He also stressed that the state would not legalise illegal buildings, only public infrastructure. On the Topli Dol tunnel, whose alternative route has been closed for about a year because a retaining wall risks collapse, the minister defended the closure: had they waited that year, “instead of traffic jams we would have had ambulances in the tunnel.”