Sofia plans major investment in roads
SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria plans to launch European Union-backed projects worth up to -550 million in 2007, its first year of accession, to upgrade its dilapidated roads, officials said yesterday. The state plans to spend -7.5 billion to overhaul its infrastructure and build over 720 kilometers of new roads by 2015 to attract foreign investment and ease transport to its relatively isolated location in the EU’s southeast corner. «We are pretty much ready to start absorbing EU funds this year. The minimum we plan to use is -100 million, but we believe we can manage to tap up to -550 million,» Veselin Georgiev, head of Bulgaria’s road agency, told journalists.