Private money will be brought into infrastructure through public-private partnerships and concessions, prime minister Rumen Radev told reporters in Tvarditsa. The aim is to keep money from the state budget for health, education and the needs of small and remote places.
Radev was in the town for the groundbreaking of a battery park that will store electricity. Reporters asked him about economic gaps between regions, attracting investment, help for business over high power prices, and the protest.
Radev said that to narrow the gaps between regions and to draw investment, Bulgaria first needs better transport links. Remote regions and small towns and villages have a problem with them.
The state budget is limited, and for decades links could not be built with public money alone, Radev said. "Especially when it is shamelessly stolen, as has been happening until now," he added.
He said that is why the government is changing its approach to infrastructure: checks are tighter, and every public contract goes through a review.
The government has a "clear plan" to help business with higher power prices, the prime minister said. The energy minister is meeting business representatives about the rise, more talks are due, and the state is looking for the most suitable and effective way to help.
The energy crisis is global and affects all of Europe, Radev said. He said one cause is the abandonment of efficient energy sources.
Radev again called for an end to the war.
He also spoke about tonight's protest, held under the slogan "Your 'peace' is capitulation! Your 'diplomacy' is isolation!" The prime minister said "the plan of the protest organisers is becoming ever clearer – to revive the 'sglobka' coalition, to whitewash Borisov and Peevski, and to return to power with them, because they cannot do it alone". Radev added that the organisers also want to drag the country into the war and have Asen Vasilev draw up the budget.