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áðîé
1: íîåìâðè 2000
áðîé
2: äåêåìâðè 2000
áðîé
3: ÿíóàðè 2001
áðîé 4: ìàðò 2001
áðîé
5: àïðèë 2001
áðîé
6: þëè 2001
Áðîé
7: þëè 2001
Áðîé
8: àâãóñò 2001
Áðîé
9: àâãóñò 2001
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The
European corridor No 4, financed by EU funds, is going to destroy
an important area for conservation of biodiversity in Europe
Struma
Highway planning through the “Kresna” CORINE Site (Kresna gorge)
in Bulgaria.
Za Zemiata/
CEE Bank Watch Network
Description of the
project:
Financial memoranda 98 and 99 of the PHARE Cross Border Cooperation
(CBC) program finance the project “E-79 Detailed design of motorway
Sofia-Kulata”. The total amount of the grant is 3 342 450 Euro.
Implementation agency (IA) is the Ministry of Regional Development
and Public Works (MRDPW). General Road Administration (GRA)
is responsible in front of the CBC IA for the operational management
of the project. On 1 September 1999 a tender procedure for project
“E-79 Detailed design of motorway Sofia-Kulata” was opened.
Candidates were 6 firms from Italy, United Kingdom and Denmark.
An Italian firm, SPEA Ingegneria Europea won the tender and
the contract was signed on 09 March 2000 with 20 months implementation
period.
The project “E-79 Detailed design of motorway Sofia-Kulata”
included preparation of feasibility study, EIA, detailed design
and tender dossier for motorway
Sofia-Kulata (consisted of two motorways -motorway “Ljulin”
and motorway “Struma”). The project is divided in three stages:
1) feasibility study 2) design and tender document of 2 lots
of the Struma motorway 3) design and tender documents of 1 lot
of Struma motorway and the whole Ljulin motorway. The first
two stages have to be carried out together and completed for
8 months and the third stage for 12 months.
About the implementation of the project we (environmental
NGOs) know that:
In the beginning of June SPEA prepared introductory report.
On 25 November 2000 SPEA received EIA report prepared by the
Bulgarian firm “OMEX” –subcontractor, which means that SPEA
finished the feasibility study, which was the first part of
the project. By this moment no alternative options had been
designed for the motorway in the region of Kresna gorge (see
below). NGOs suppose that requirements for examination and evaluation
of alternative roadbeds for the motorway, different from
already designed by GRA in 1997,are not included in the
Terms of Reference prepared by GRA. At least we are sure that
such obligatory requirements are not included for the part of
motorway, which has to pass through the region of Kresna gorge.
What we did in order to find information and to be involved
in the decision making process:
Environmental NGOs have
been concerned by the design and construction of the Struma
motorway since the beginning in 1997 (see attached Kresna
campaign.rtf and Eu letter sent.rtf). At least 15 Bulgarian
NGOs participate in the campaign for protection of Kresna gorge
region (recognized as a CORINE site Kresna) - a very important
natural area which has to become part of the European Ecological
Network NATURA 2000 after Bulgaria becomes member of EU.
All roadbeds of the motorway designed in 1997 by GRA pass trough
this region and pose a threat to nature which is a violation
of Bulgarian and European legislation (Bulgarian Nature Protection
Act, Bern Convention, Directives 92/43 and 79/409). The motorway
trough the gorge will also have a significant impact on the
town of Kresna situated at the exit of the gorge. NGOs wrote
many letters and had many meetings with representatives of the
Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters (MEW) and several
meetings with representatives of DG Environment in EU commission.
In all our statements since 1997 we had one main demand – to
be protected Kresna CORINE site, which mean Struma motorway
to pass outside this area. In the same time authority responsible
for implementation of the motorway, even do not have alternative
which do not cause the damaging and destroying of the CORINE
site Kresna. Since 1997 the design of the motorway and preparation
of EIA report have been conducted without any public participation.
The position of environmental NGOs in Bulgaria and possible
damages for Kresna CORINE site and Kresna town have been neglected.
Unfortunately, the
practice of GRA and MRDPW to not give information to the public,
to not allow public participation and not consider NGOs
request for designing real alternatives continued after FUNDS
FOR THE DESIGN WERE PROVIDED BY PHARE CBC and therefore by EU.
Not
only the Bulgarian government but also EU institutions did not
give full and relevant information about this project.
Here is a short history of the attempts of NGOs to participate
in the decision making process and to obtain information about
government and EU activities related to the design of the motorway
during 2000.
On 14 February 2000 NGOs
sent a letter to Mr. Evgeni Chachev Minster of the Regional
Development and Public Works with a request for meeting and
with an
appeal to consider NGOs suggestion to design the alternatives
outside the Kresna gorge. Until then NGOs did not know anything
about the opened tender procedure
for project “E-79 Detailed design of motorway Sofia-Kulata”
financed by PHARE CBC. There were no any announcements in the
Bulgarian media that such a
procedure will be conducted. No answer to our letter was
received.
- After a short announcement
in newspapers at the end of March that a contract for designing
the Struma motorway had been signed with an Italian firm, NGOs
sent
a letter with a request for information to GRA on 13 April 2000.
We asked GRA about projects or contracts for designing of the
Struma motorway, financial
provision of this contracts and whether GRA had included in
Terms of Reference a requirement for designing alternatives
outside the gorge. In their answer from 10
May 2000 we learned that the firm SPEA is engaged for preparation
of the feasibility study of the Struma motorway and PHARE CBC
is supporting this project. No
answer to our question about alternative roadbeds of the motorway.
No answer to our question to obtain official documents indicating
what are the
intentions of our government.
- In June several informal
meeting with specialists from SPEA were made to find out more
about the project. Most of the information was refused with
the
explanation that the owner of the information is GRA. In these
informal talk we found that SPEA did not intend to developed
alternatives outside the gorge.
- We wrote two letters-request
for development of alternative routes outside Kresna CORINE
site, signed by 6 NGOs, (10 July 2000): first to MEW and second
to
MRDPW and GRA. In a letter from 21 July 2000 GRA (as an answer)
wrote that SPEA had presented an introductory report and GRA
had “proposed” to the
firm to develop alternatives which do not damage the territory
with international conservation importance. No confirmation
that this will really happen, that
developing of the alternatives is included in the contract and
Terms of Reference was given to SPEA.
- On 24 July 2000 we wrote
an official letter to SPEA with request for meeting. We wanted
to present them our concerns and to exchange information. No
answer
was received.
- In relation to the public
meeting-discussion which we intended to organize in Kresna on
10 August, we requested from GRA (“the owner of the documentation”)
to
provide a copy of the maps of the potential route. No answer
was received.
- At the meeting organized
by us in Kresna we invited a big range of specialists from MEW,
MRDPW, GRA, and European delegation in Bulgaria, and scientists
working in the region. Only one representative from GRA, Mr.
Hristov, was presented (see attached protocol meeting.rtf).
The latter used every possibility to
reassure people that “it is too early, and when different alternatives
are ready they will be discussed with local people”. At the
meeting NGOs
representatives asked him for obtaining the whole SPEA’s introductory
report and to make it public. Mr. Hristov promised to give the
whole report. Later, after the
next request in written form (15 August 2000) made by NGOs,
only a part of the report was given. The maps and probably many
other important
sections were not given. This is the only case, when GRA gave
any official document to the NGOs and the public.
- On 16 October 2000 we
officially asked GRA for the Terms of Reference made by GRA
for SPEA. Information was canceled, with the demand for the
legal
status of our organization to be presented.
- In informal talk with
head of OMAX (firm conducting EIA) we found that EIA is ready
and will be presented in front of SPEA on 25 October 2000
- The European Delegation
in Sofia was interested in the public meeting and expressed
a wish to receive a protocol from the meeting. We presented
the protocol (in
Bulgarian and English) to Mrs. Teodora Mircheva on our meeting
on 1 November 2000 in the European Delegation. On this meeting
we invited the Mayor and
Deputy-Mayor of Kresna (see memo.rtf). At that meeting NGOs
submitted a letter for obtaining information about the EU commission
requirements for feasibility
studies financed by EU funds and about the feasibility study
given to SPEA. No answer was received.
- Due to Mrs. Teodora Mircheva
a second meeting was organized with representative of GRA, SPEA,
OMAX and head of PHARE Program – Mrs. Vesselina
Ljubenova, hosted by the European Delegation. During the meeting
Mrs. Vesselina Ljubenova expressed the statement that Terms
of Reference of the firm SPEA will
be changed and will include development of the alternative outside
Kresna CORINE site. But till end of 2000 there is no evidence
that this has happened.
Bulgarian institutions and PHARE are again in silence.
- On 23 November 2000 NGOs
again sent a letter to GRA with request for access the following
information: Terms of Reference given to SPEA, documents and
papers already prepared by SPEA, all information related to
the preparation of the EIA report. Till the end of 2000 no answer
was received.
Lack of consultation with local people.
During the preparation of the feasibility study local people
have not been informed about the plans for the Struma motorway
to go through the gorge and Kresna
town. The only source of information for them was the meeting
organized by NGOs.
No discussion with local people for the possible route-beds
was held.
In spite of all promises for development of the alternative
route outside the Kresna CORINE site in the beginning of December
the Mayor of Kresna was asked to come to Sofia in GRA where
he was told that the decision for the construction of the motorway
is already taken and there is only one option “through the gorge
and the town”.
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