Builders and supervision firms have filed claims against state rail infrastructure company NRIC over public procurement contracts, transport minister Georgi Peev told a snap hearing at parliament's transport committee.
Under those contracts, they want price indexation worth more than 256 million euros. On top of that, they are claiming around 460 million euros for work and deals that were never part of the contracts when they were signed.
There is no money in the budget for the indexation payments yet, and the cabinet has not agreed a single formula for working them out, Peev said. He said NRIC's management has been told to draw up internal rules for splitting the money that is available, based on the work actually done. Those rules will kick in once the government adopts the formula.
The minister said that if building work stops because contractors run into money trouble, restarting the rail projects would be very hard.
A law firm hired to look into Plovdiv airport is close to finishing its work. Talks are also underway with international financial institutions to confirm the findings and advise on how to launch a concession process. The airport has been stuck for years and survives only on a state subsidy, Peev said.
"Plovdiv airport will never become Sofia airport or Heathrow. It has huge potential, but not to pull in large numbers of new airlines," the minister said.
Peev said the airport needs to build on what the region has to offer economically: transport that combines different modes, cargo flights, maintenance work, hangars and related business. A state-run body cannot grow an airport like that, he said, so he sees a concession with an experienced global operator and private capital as the best option.
"I firmly believe a concession model, a public-private partnership, would work best for Plovdiv airport's future development," he said. The minister added that a rail link to the airport is also planned.
The Varna-West and Varna-East terminals at the port of Varna already have pre-concession studies done by the World Bank's financial arm, the IFC, and the IBRD.
Peev said Bulgaria needs to make the most of its position on the Middle Transport Corridor. Bulgaria's ports sit in a better spot geographically than Romania's, he said, but Constanta beats them on scale and development.
The terminals and the port of Burgas should not be looked at one by one, but together, the minister said. He said bringing in an established international port operator is the fastest way to tap the potential of the sea ports.