Bulgarian PM Vows Highway to Mediterranean
The "Struma Highway" is crucial for both Bulgaria and Greece as it will link Sofia with the Mediterranean coast, believes Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
"Infrastructure, highways, railways mean viability for every nation. It is strategically expedient for Bulgaria to have access to the Aegean with the Struma Highway. I wonder why this highway hasn't been planned so far," Borisov told BNT Friday morning.
He further pointed that the extension of the Struma Highway (going from Sofia to the Greek border) to the north into a Danube bridge crossing into Romania will mean "business worth billions" for the entire region.
The PM also said the Hemus Highway - going from Sofia to Varna through Northern Bulgaria - had been totally forgotten but his ministers managed to get European Commission staff to consider it for EU funding.
"World Bank President Robert Zoellick during his visit the other day pointed out that out government has political will. What Bulgaria lacks is administrative capacity for such projects, not because the Bulgarians are stupid but because those who have there qualities have emigrated," Borisov declared.
The Prime Minister promised an emphasize on road and highway construction and rehabilitation while also claiming that he would have "flooded the country with asphalt" if he had been the PM a couple of years ago when Bulgaria had budget surpluses.