Bulgaria Opens 31 KM of Maritsa Highway

Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, officially opened Saturday a 31-km section of the Maritsa Highway between the towns of Harmanly and Lyubimets.

The new road junction near Novo Selo, providing direct connection with the highway to Greece, also opened Saturday.

The cost of construction works is estimated at BNG 36 M and it is financed by the State budget.

The contractors are "Patni Stroeshi" (Road Construction), Plovdiv and "Moststroy" (Bridge Construction), part of the "Holding Patishta" (Roads Holding) company while the construction control is carried out by "Patinvestengineering" (Road Invest Engineering).

In March, Borisov promised the section will open by August 15, but construction was delayed due to landslides and additional works at Novo Selo.

There are 67 km still be build. The Maritsa Highway runs between the village of Orizovo, near Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv and the "Capitan Andreevo" cross-border point with Turkey. The highway is part of the trans-European corridor from Dresden, Germany to Istanbul and part of the trans-European highway connecting Central and Eastern Europe with the Middle East and Asia. The highway will connect to the Trakiya Highway near Orizovo.

Regional Minister, Rosen Plevneliev, will accompany Borisov during the official opening ceremony.