Chinese, Turkish and Bulgarian Companies Bid to Build Mt. Shipka Tunnel

Seven offers were opened here on Wednesday in a tender for the construction of a Mt. Shipka tunnel. The aspiring contractors are companies from Bulgaria, China and Turkey, the Road Infrastructure Agency said.

The contract is for more than the Shipka tunnel and will include building a 10.5 km road with a 7.6 km stretch of new construction and the reconstruction of 2.9 km of the existing road between Gabrovo and Kazanluk, as well as five tunnels with a total length of 4.011 km. The Shipka tunnel will be 3.22 km long, while the other four will be 171 m, 240 m, 90 m and 290 m. The project also includes six bridges and 1 underpass.

The total tentative value is 267.2 million leva pre-VAT.

The contractor will have 1,280 days, which is close to three-and-a-half years, to complete the project.

The facility will be a key element of the North-South infrastructure and will be used for crossing the Balkan Range in the central part of the country: from Rousse (on the Danube) to Svilengrad and Makaza (on the border with Greece) via Veliko Turnovo, and from Oryahovo (on the Danube) to Svilengrad/Makaza via Sevlievo and Stara Zagora.

The government's plan is to seek funding for the project from the future EU-funded Operational Programme Transport Connectivity (2021-2027).

Source: BTA