Balgarianovinite.com Bulgaria’s Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov said the current government won’t be paying inflation indexation for road construction contracts under a controversial methodology approved by the previous administration, arguing that the mechanism would unfairly drain public funds.
Speaking on bTV Sunday night, Shishkov described the price indexation measure as one of several “traps” left behind by former governments.
He said one of the most serious issues was the approval in December 2025 of a construction contract indexation methodology that allowed advance payments already made to contractors to be indexed for inflation. The decision was adopted shortly before the previous government resigned following public protests at the end of 2025.
“The trap is not only in the Ministry of Regional Development – it is across all sectors,” Shishkov said. “This is a way for public money to be drained through a formally legal mechanism, but in my view it represents a direct loss for the state budget.”
The minister said the financial implications could be enormous. He pointed to the Hemus motorway project, where around EUR 1 billion had reportedly already been paid in advance. Under the methodology, those advance payments could now also become subject to additional indexation.
“Construction firms received these advances precisely so they would not later require indexation,” Shishkov argued.
He said the initiative for the methodology came from the road construction sector itself, but blamed the State for approving it. “The fault is not with the one who eats the pie, but with the one who gives it to him,” he said, calling the arrangement “at the very least immoral”.
Shishkov criticized the sector for receiving substantial public funding while delivering “far too few motorways” in return. However, he stressed that responsibility ultimately lies with the state institutions that enabled the system.
The minister confirmed that the government has already begun work on changing the indexation rules and has agreed internally that no payments will be made under the current methodology.
Despite the criticism, the minister called for optimism about the future of Bulgaria’s road sector, saying the government plans to redesign and complete the country’s motorway network under stricter standards.
“The sector has a huge future because we have said clearly that we will design and build all motorways,” he said.
Commenting on recent flooding along a section of the Hemus Motorway, Shishkov blamed what he described as an “extremely poor technical solution” on Lot 1 of the project, which began construction in 2018 and was completed in December 2025 after years of delays and corruption allegations.
He said authorities are expected to determine responsibility for the incident in the coming days. The faulty stretch will be re-built, he added. Government Won’t Adjust Prices for Road Construction Contracts under Methodology Adopted by Zhelyazkov Cabinet 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-05-18 08:47:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law