Half a billion leva will not go to road-building but instead will go on COVID-related measures, said the regional ministry today. This will probably go towards helping businesses with measures to cope with the effects of the pandemic - and pensions. This already helped the economy last year, as data shows.
Bulgarian economy might recover this year
A European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) forecast envisages a possible 4.5% growth of GDP this year, which means the country will have compensated for a 4.2% drop last year. This rosy forecast depends on two factors, warns the bank: mass vaccination and political stability. Last year Bulgaria avoided a deep fall because of internal consumption which was maintained through state money, says EBRD.
The heads of the state railways dismissed
Transport Minister Georgi Todorov dismissed the CEO of BDZ Nikola Vasilev and the chairman of the board Grigori Grigorov today. Todorov explained his actions by citing the worsening situation in the state-owned entity: since the beginning of 2021, there have been 71 333 minutes of delay in the railways. Poor organization has also led to a loss of customers in the cargo division. Both directors were appointed from the previous government with a competitive procedure that saw no real competition.
Sofia forfeits funds for another subway line from the Recovery and Resilience plan
The deputy prime-minister in charge of the plan - Atanas Pekanov's office announced today that out of 360 million leva (180 million euro) earmarked for the new line for Sofia metro by the previous government, only 160 million will remain. Pekanov justified his decision by pointing out that Sofia is well ahead of other cities and is above the EU average in GDP per capita. Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova claimed that Sofia "deserves the money".
Half a billion leva will not go to road-building but instead will go on COVID-related measures, said the regional ministry today. This will probably go towards helping businesses with measures to cope with the effects of the pandemic - and pensions. This already helped the economy last year, as data shows.
