Construction on the Expansion of the Southern Arc of the Ring Road in Sofia can Start at end of 2019.

Construction on the expansion of the Southern arc of the ring road of the capital between Mladost and Trakia highway could begin by the end of the year, announced Regional Development Minister Petya Avramova during Friday's parliamentary oversight.

This deadline for starting construction could be met if there is no appeal against expropriation of property and all necessary procedures are in place.

"In the direction of the Sofia Ring Road and Trakia Highway, kilometers of queues are formed daily, columns of cars that make it difficult for the traffic, and with the completion of this section of the South Arc will be solved not only the problem presented, but also one motor vehicle a route that will ensure adequate servicing of the urbanized territories, industrial areas, commercial zones and the sites to the Sofia ring road, "Avramova added.

She specified that the signing of a contract for the selected contractor was obstructed due to a complaint to the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC). "At the moment, following a Commission decision in favor of the contracting authority, a contract is to be signed with the contractor for engineering. The design time is 180 days and for the construction works 730 calendar days, "Avramova added.

So far, 12 offers of companies have been submitted for participation in the procedure and the technical committee at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) is currently examining and assessing them. At the end of the evaluation, the project bids will be open. Along with the above-mentioned procedures, the Agency carries out the alienation procedure under the Law on State Property for Land Properties, located on the territory of Sofia Municipality, Avramova also said.