SOFIA (Bulgaria), October 31 (SeeNews) – The section of Sofia's metro linking downtown Sofia with the city's international airport will operate from next April, Sofia municipality said on Friday.
To date, 72% of construction works on the five-kilometre section have been completed, Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova said in a press release after a tour of the construction site.
The project, which was started in November 2012, is co-financed by the EU-funded operational transport programme. At the time of its launch, the project was estimated to cost 136 million levs ($87.3 million/70 million euro).
Sofia’s underground metro network will ultimately consist of three lines, involving 62 kilometres and 63 stations.
The construction of the third line, spanning 16.5 kilometres and with 19 sections, may be delayed due to complaints, submitted by environmental organisations, against the project's environmental impact assessment.
Another section, connecting Botevgradsko Shosse boulevard with Ovcha Kupel neighbourhood in southwestern Sofia, was scheduled to start in early 2015.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)