BULGARIA: GOVERNMENT TAKES ON ROADS

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