August 23 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria has received 11 bids in a tender for the construction of a 9.3 km motorway section, estimated at 80 million levs ($46.3 million/41 million euro), the country's road infrastructure agency said on Tuesday.
The stretch, which starts near the town of Yablanica, is the first out of four planned sections for the extension of Hemus motorway, which should link the capital of Sofia and the Black Sea city of Varna. The other three sections will have a length of 15-17 km each.
The 9.3 km stretch should be built within 910 days, the agency said in a statement.
Last week, the road agency said that Bulgaria is completing the preparation of the documents for the launch of tender for the construction of the second section with a length of 16.5 km.
In February, Bulgaria terminated tender for the construction of a 60 km stretch of the highway, divided in two sections, amid suspected irregularities regarding the transparency of the selection process and the spending of state funds. The total cost of the contract was 756.8 million levs, and the regional development ministry claimed it was unable to ensure EU funding to pay for it.
The planned length of the whole Hemus motorway, part of which is operational, is 433 km.
(1 euro=1.95583 levs)