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

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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