Construction Of Second Sofia Metro Line Put On Hold

Sofia city hall will ask for annulment of the tender for the construction of the second line of Sofia's metro network because of the high prices offered by the bidders, Sofia's deputy mayor for transport Velizar Stoilov said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily on March 11.

The decision lies with an ad hoc commission, which includes representatives of the city hall, finance and transport ministries representatives, and could decide to either negotiate down the price with the bidders or to start a new tender.

“The best thing to do and what we'll probably do is to set up a new tender,” Stoilov told The Sofia Echo.

The second line of Sofia's metro will link the Lozenets district with downtown and from there to the Ilientsi district, with a total length of 18km and 15 stations. The stretch for which the tender was called is 6.4km-long and has seven stations, linking Nadezhda district with Cherni Vruh Boulevard in Lozenets district.

Sofia's municipality simply could not afford the price list put forth the companies bidding for the metro construction, Stoilov said. One Czech company offered a price of 65 million euro a kilometer, while two other companies, from Germany and Spain offered 56 million euro a kilometer. The Japanese company that is now building the first metro line to Mladost neighbourhood is paid 27 million euro a kilometer.

The European fund for regional development has granted 185 million euro for the construction of the second metro line, with the Sofia city hall allocating another 69 million leva in its budget. The constriction of the stretch between Nadezhda borough and Cherni Vruh Blvd. should have started this spring and finish in 2011.

Sofia's metro network development plan. The second line, linking Lozenets district with downtown and from there to the Ilientsi district, is in blue.