Bulgaria removes helicopter bases from the RRP to save 80 million euros

Bulgaria faces a real risk of derailing one of its most significant healthcare projects under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). The construction of the six operational bases for medical helicopters is bogged down in administrative procedures and delays that threaten not only the “golden hour” for patient survival but also nearly €80 million in funding.

To prevent the loss of funds for the medical helicopters, Acting Health Minister Mihail Okoliyski proposes removing the construction of the bases from the RRP and transferring them to state funding. This involves approximately €6.3 million, which will have to come from the budget, but this will effectively save €80 million for the medical air ambulances.

Two years after the launch of this investment, actual construction of the permanent bases has not begun, and they cannot be completed within the set deadlines,” the minister commented, as quoted by BNR.

We remind you that the contract for the construction of the bases was awarded in February 2024, and in June of the same year, the contractors were selected. The “Belstroy Engineering AM” consortium, comprising “Panov” EOOD, "Balkan" Ltd., as well as the well-known "Autostrade – Black Sea" AD and "Via Pro Engineering," was selected to build five bases – in Sofia, Pleven, Sliven, Targovishte, and Montana. Only the base in Plovdiv was to be built by the company “Bildkom BG” EOOD.

The deadline for completion was set at 10 months. The bases are of critical importance, as they were to serve as home bases for the medical helicopters that would take off from them during emergency response missions. Their locations were strategically chosen to cover the entire country, so that the helicopters could provide medical assistance within the so-called “golden hour.”

The bases are located in:

• Sofia – Sofia Airport;
• Plovdiv – Plovdiv Airport;
• Pleven – the airport in the town of Dolna Mitropoliya;
• Sliven – “Barshen” Airport;
• Targovishte – the airport in the village of Bukhovtsi;
• Montana – the former military airbase in the village of Gabrovnitsa.

At the end of 2024, the consortium submitted an investment proposal for the construction of the base in the village of Gabrovnitsa, Montana.

Some of the sites designated for bases are in the middle of nowhere; there is even a compromised road leading to the base in Gabrovnitsa, Montana Municipality. “We have concerns about how all communication will effectively take place, the transportation of the people working there, where they and their families will live, and how they will be motivated,” the health minister commented.

The delivery of the last two helicopters (out of a total of 8 under the contract with Leonardo) is expected by August 2026. The big question remains whether the European Commission will accept Bulgaria’s proposal to amend the PUP. If this does not happen, the country may end up with air ambulances that have nowhere to be adequately serviced.

Translated with DeepL.