BGN 60 million for the construction of charging stations for electric vehicles are provided in the new OP "Development of the Regions"

Under the Regional Development Program 2021-2027, more than BGN 376 million are provided for sustainable urban mobility, of which nearly BGN 60 million are for the construction of charging infrastructure. This was announced by Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Stefan Asparuhov. Together with the Commercial Attaché of the British Embassy Tim Buissere Asparuhov opened a conference on "Sustainable Mobility: Incentives and Implementation of Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles".

The operational program will finance measures for sustainable mobility, including charging infrastructure for clean vehicles and the introduction of intelligent transport systems. The equipment for charging electric cars is eligible for funding as part of the energy efficiency measures of the building stock under the program.

Asparuhov also announced that under the National Plan for Reconstruction and Sustainability, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works together with the State Agency for Road Safety plans to implement a pilot scheme to support sustainable urban mobility "Green Mobility". The total budget for it is expected to be BGN 100 million. The scheme will finance integrated projects for sustainable urban and interurban transport on the territory of 40 municipalities. Measures to provide charging stations for public transport vehicles and intelligent transport systems will also be implemented, it became clear from the words of the Deputy Minister.

In parallel, in order to provide the necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works is working on amendments to the Ordinance on planning and design of the communication and transport system in urban areas. The changes envisage that in the new public service buildings with more than 10 parking spaces at least one out of every five parking spaces will be equipped with a charging point for an electric vehicle, Stefan Asparuhov explained. For new residential buildings with more than ten separate parking spaces, when providing spaces for electric vehicles with charging point equipment, the design of the building must provide for 10% of the parking spaces to be for electric vehicles.

"The issue of increasing electromobility is complex, has different aspects and its development can only be done by uniting the efforts of different administrative structures and involving different organizations, businesses and municipalities," said the Deputy Minister. According to him, the opportunity to activate more resources on the part of the European Commission in order to stimulate the construction of the necessary infrastructure is also important for this purpose.

Before the participants in the event, the Deputy Minister presented some of the normative acts regulating the charging infrastructure for electric cars. According to the Spatial Planning Act for the installation of chargers for electric vehicles, a permit is issued on the basis of a scheme and project documentation approved by the chief architect of the municipality.

The Energy Act introduces the requirements for connecting the charging points to the respective electricity transmission network operator, as well as for measuring the electricity supplied by the network.

The event is part of the British Embassy's campaign to promote emissions reductions and the sharing of good practices following the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Italy.