No funds will be lost under Operational Program Transport in 2014, said Galina Vasileva, Director of the Coordination of Programs and Projects Directorate at MTITC during the Monitoring Committee of the National Strategic Referent Framework 2007 – 2013. The event was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European funds and economic policy, Tomislav Donchev, and the progress on the implementation of all operational programs was reported.

“All of the available resources have been agreed and about 68 per cent of the budget of OPT has been repaid”, said Galina Vasileva. The main priority of the team at MTITC is speeding up works and undertaking actions to minimize the risk of losing funds at the end of 2015. The main reason for the delay in the implementation of bigger infrastructure projects is the expropriation procedures and archaeological findings.

Currently there are five high-risk projects in the scope of OPT. Two of them (Lot 4 of Struma highway and Lot 1 of Maritsa highway) are in the road sector and three are in the railway sector (Septemvri – Plovdiv, Plovdiv – Burgas, Dimitrovgrad – Svilengrad). These projects have been daily monitored and the Ministry is in constant touch with the beneficiaries and subcontractors so as to optimize the deadlines. “Irrespective of the difficulties, none of these projects will be suspended, neither the repayments under OPT”, highlighted Galina Vasileva.

Representatives of the European commission from DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and DG Regional and Urban Policy, as well as experts and managers of the managing authorities of the operational programs and NGOs attended today’s meeting of the committee.