Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov met with the leadership of the Bulgarian Construction Chamber (BCC).

“Topics such as ETS 1, ETS 2, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Social Climate Fund direct a huge financial resource and directly affect the construction sector. At the same time, Bulgaria still does not have a unified national position on these, which makes both internal dialogue and our presentation at the European level difficult,” said Minister Popov. On behalf of the Chamber, the Chairman, eng. Lyubomir Kachamakov, expressed the need for better information and coordination on these European policies. Minister Popov proposed organizing a specialized seminar and expert dialogue with the participation of representatives from the industry. He added that the financial resource of the Social Climate Fund is nearly 3.5 billion euros, “a large part of which will go to the construction industry.”

The main topics raised by the Chamber representatives were related to the progress under the Environment Program 2021-2027, the water shortage, delayed payments to businesses, as well as the possibility of price indexations for projects from 2020 onwards.

Regarding the water shortage, Minister Julian Popov stated that until the water transmission system of Pleven as a critical region is not fixed, even if a dam is built, it will not solve the city’s problems. Deputy Minister Petar Dimitrov recalled that European funding is not a panacea and confirmed: “Additional water in a system with huge losses is like pouring into a bottomless bucket. Before planning new water sources, the main problem must be solved – the state of the water transmission infrastructure”. European funding is mainly aimed at wastewater treatment, which limits the possibilities for investments in water supply systems and requires complementary national solutions.

The Ministry of Environment and Water stated that the resources under the program are limited and pre-agreed, with the possibilities for additional indexation being tied to the availability of free financial resources. At the moment, no such resources have been identified, and all realized savings are directed towards priority investments related to the implementation of the country's commitments under European legislation.

The Director of the General Directorate for the Operational Program "Environment" Irena Pencheva explained that European funding is targeted and cannot cover all needs, which is why additional participation from the national budget and co-funding by the beneficiaries is necessary. Regarding delayed payments to construction companies, Pencheva assured that any request submitted by beneficiaries under the "Environment" Program is fulfilled without delay, so the industry should direct the issue to the contracting authorities.

On the issue of the indexation of project prices, payments, and the search for sustainable solutions to ensure the necessary financial resources, Minister Julian Popov committed to assisting with organizing an expanded meeting of the BCC with the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Environment and Water.