"The Lyulin Motorway will be ready by January 10 and will be opened to traffic on a trial basis," Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on Saturday while inspecting the Dragichevo junction on the future motorway in Pernik Region. He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov and Regional Development and Public Works Minister Rosen Plevneliev.

The 19 km Lyulin Motorway will link Sofia with the future Strouma Motorway, thus opening up a new route to Bulgaria's borders with Greece and Macedonia.

"The two-lane road between Sofia and Blagoevgrad is already a fact. We kept our promise to add it [to the road network] during the winter season," the Prime Minister said.

During the trial operation of the Lyulin Motorway, finishing work will be carried out in the tunnels, he said, noting that the trial operation of motorways is an established European practice.

Two thousand people have been working on the motorway, Minister Plevneliev said. According to him, the work accomplished so far has absorbed 174 million euro out of a total of 185 million euro in financing, which means that practically all structural work has been completed. The government has honoured its commitment to make its payments quickly, providing 32 million euro in co-financing for the project. The remaining 142 million euro has come under a memorandum for the EU ISPA programme.

Prime Minister Borissov expects European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to approve the necessary financing for the Trakia Motorway in Southern Bulgaria next week. He also expects that the construction of the Strouma Motorway will begin in May 2011. European Investment Bank President Philippe Maystadt will arrive in Bulgaria on January 15 to negotiate for the financing of the Strouma Motorway. Furthermore, the building of the two sections of yet another motorway in Southern Bulgaria, Maritsa, will begin next year, he predicted.

Source: BTA