"You are not working for money, you are contributing to the combat readiness and capability of our armed forces. Any delay is hindering that capability." With these words, interim Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov addressed the companies working on the large-scale modernization of the Graf Ignatievo air base, which is to receive the new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets in June. His call came on a specific occasion - the grand opening of the runway, whose repair and extension was dramatically delayed amid a bunch of hiccups during the construction works related to drainage problems and poor quality markings.
However, its official commissioning three months ago does not mean that the runway is fit for the takeoff or landing of the US fighter jets because, fact is, it is yet to be certified by NATO.
Planes arrival may be delayed again
The completion of construction and repair work on the runway should not be seen as a reassuring sign for another reason - it is far from certain that when the first US fighter jets arrive early next year, the now construction site-like airbase will be ready to receive them.
At the grand opening ceremony caretaker minister Zapryanov made great play of the fact that four of the airbase's modernisation projects had received an operational certification and six more were in the pipeline. Yet almost no one believes that the massive revamp of Graf Ignatievo, which includes the construction of new buildings, renovation of existing ones, construction of hangars for servicing and repairing F-16 fighter jets, shelters, laboratories, warehouses, workshops, a training complex, and the accompanying infrastructure, will be completed by early next year.
Modernization costs so far
There are a total of 48 different repairs currently taking place at the airbase now, 15 of which are directly related to the arrival of the fighters, and the remaining 33 are related to the operation and improvement of the infrastructure of the base. A total of 90 contracts have been signed with construction companies for their implementation, 32 of which relate directly to the fighter jets and without the sites being ready, they cannot be welcomed at the airbase. The other 58 contracts are for infrastructure.
It has also been stated that the total amount of the contracts concluded by the Ministry of Defence for the modernization of the airbase amounts to just under 386 million levs. Of these, nearly 244 million levs are for the projects that directly affect the F-16 fighter jets, and the remaining 151 million levs are for the construction of other infrastructure. The majority of the amount for the entire modernization is from the budget of the Defense Ministry, and just under 69 million levs comes from NATO. The contracts for the modernization of the airbase were signed at the end of Boyko Borissov's third term in office by then-minister Krassimir Karakachanov.
However, this is not the final amount. According to information from the beginning of July this year, published on the government's platform for access to public information, since mid-2023 another 7 contracts for the modernization of the airbase have been concluded by the Ministry of Defence. Separately, the department plans to sign 14 more contracts this year, and it is not yet clear at this stage what their value will be, nor what necessitates bringing in more contractors to work on Graf Ignatievo sites.
The modernization of the airbase has been covered in fog from the start. Only a few statements by caretaker and regular ministers of defense since May 2021 hinted at the seriousness of the problems. It was understood that some of the construction companies could not fulfill their commitments on time and that the modernization, which was planned to be completed in the middle of last year, was likely to be delayed.
The selection of contractors under Karakachanov was conducted in a non-transparent way. At the time, he used a clause in the public procurement law, according to which the award of defense and security contracts up to 10 million levs could be done without a public tender. The projects were disaggregated and specific unnamed (for security reasons) companies were invited. As several ministers of defense after Karakachanov pointed out, this blurred the responsibility and made the repair process impossible to direct.
Botched planning kill the modernization
Speaking to Capital weekly, Karakachanov said that the delay in the implementation of the projects was because the ministers after him had "done nothing" to give permission to the companies to start work. While he said things had been delayed, material prices had soared and companies had started pushing for contract updates, which only happened last year.
According to defense experts, however, one of the reasons for the chaos surrounding the airbase modernization was that there was no master plan and the work was done piecemeal. It turned out, for example, that no one had planned the accompanying activities, such as the construction of the sewage network, the runaway drainage and the arched shelters for the aircraft. It was also not foreseen that the base would need a new substation because the old one had insufficient capacity.
The other reason, according to the experts, is that most of the companies with which the contracts have been concluded do not have the capacity to carry out this activity. Hence, according to unofficial information, they have had to hire numerous subcontractors. Moreover, the American side has established standards for the sites that will serve the F-16 fighter jets and after their construction, they must go through the approval of our Atlantic partners. In addition, the companies received almost the entire amount in advance shortly after the contracts were signed and, because of the delay, some of them had to receive indexations.
In any case, the result is clear - due to poor planning and the abuse of procurement rules carried out almost five years ago, one of the most expensive and long-awaited modernization projects of the Bulgarian military is under threat. Even if no corruption had been at play at the time, the case highlights the total inability of the state to carry out any significant infrastructure projects on its own - even if they concern its sovereignty.
"You are not working for money, you are contributing to the combat readiness and capability of our armed forces. Any delay is hindering that capability." With these words, interim Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov addressed the companies working on the large-scale modernization of the Graf Ignatievo air base, which is to receive the new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets in June. His call came on a specific occasion - the grand opening of the runway, whose repair and extension was dramatically delayed amid a bunch of hiccups during the construction works related to drainage problems and poor quality markings.
However, its official commissioning three months ago does not mean that the runway is fit for the takeoff or landing of the US fighter jets because, fact is, it is yet to be certified by NATO.
