The European Commission approved the application form for the construction of Maritsa Motorway, to be co-funded by the Cohesion Fund under Operational Programme Transport.

The project is divided into two lots as its total value exceeds 203 million EUR. Eighty per cent of these, or 163,048,308 EUR, are a grant from the Cohesion Fund. The total length of the project is close to 66 km. The motorway is part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor IV, as well as of the Trans-European North-South Motorway.

Contractors for the two lots have already been selected and the approval by the European Commission guarantees the completion of the project by the end of 2013. The missing section of 65.62 km of the Maritsa Motorway, between Plodovitovo road junction (near Trakiya Motorway) and the town of Harmanli, Haskovo Region, will be fully completed. Three road junctions, five bridges, 10 subways and overhead crossings, noise insulating fences and green areas will be built along the route.

By the construction of the two lots the motorway connection between Sofia and the Turkish border along corridors IV and X of TEN-T (the trans-European Transport Network) will be actually completed. The motorway will divert traffic from many population centres that are currently suffering from noise, air pollution and the risk, posed by the busy traffic. At the same time, road traffic in Southeastern Bulgaria will be faster, safer and more efficient.