The largest construction companies want to build the Byala-Veliko Tarnovo road

The largest construction companies in Bulgaria are participating in the tender for the construction of a 60-kilometer motorway section between Byala and Veliko Tarnovo. The estimated value is nearly BGN 3 billion excluding VAT.

All prospective builders are united in consortia, some of which include foreign participants from Romania, Turkey, and Italy.

The Road Infrastructure Agency opened the bids on Tuesday, and although the price offers are not yet clear, it is evident that the competition will be fierce.

A total of 12 bids from 10 consortia have been submitted for the construction of the third section of the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo motorway, which will connect Byala and the old capital. Construction is expected to take 1,770 days, or almost five years.

The tender was announced in March this year and provoked numerous reactions, as according to the estimated value, one kilometer of the section will cost BGN 50 million. We would like to remind you that in 2022, the expected price per kilometer was more than 50% lower. However, the chairman of the API was quick to “reassure” Bulgarians that a kilometer of the future Struma route through Kresna would exceed this record, most likely reaching BGN 120 million.

Details about the Byala – Veliko Tarnovo route

The planned route of the future Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo motorway has a total length of 133 km and is divided into three main sections: Ruse-Byala, the Byala bypass, and Byala-Veliko Tarnovo. The current public procurement contract is for the third section, which is subdivided into three subsections:

• The first sub-section is 23.8 km long, from the road junction at the intersection of road I-3 Byala – Pleven (at km 76) to the intersection with the Hemus motorway. The estimated value here is BGN 995 million excluding VAT;
• The second subsection is approximately 20 km long, starting from the intersection with the Hemus motorway and reaching the intersection with road I-4 Veliko Tarnovo – Sofia. The estimated cost is BGN 951 million excluding VAT;
• The third sub-section is 16.2 km long, from the intersection with road I-4 Veliko Tarnovo – Sofia to road II-55 Debelets – Nova Zagora. The estimated value is over BGN 1 billion excluding VAT.

Each candidate was entitled to submit bids for more than one of the separate positions, with a deadline for submission of May 13, 2025. However, this deadline was extended to June 2, and the bids were opened a day later. It is noteworthy that the consortiums' documentation was submitted on the last possible day – June 2.

The most bids – a total of five – were submitted for the third sub-section, and the fewest – three – for the first.

The contractor selected for each position will have to prepare an up-to-date technical design, proceed with a detailed development plan – a parcel plan (PUPP) – and build the entire section.

We would like to remind you that contracts for the design, construction, and construction supervision of the first two sections of the motorway – from Ruse to Byala and the Byala bypass – have already been signed, and the contractors are currently working on the technical designs. Construction work is even underway on one section of the Byala bypass.

Which companies are participating in the race for Byala – Veliko Tarnovo

There is great interest in the construction of the section, with a number of proven Bulgarian and foreign construction companies joining forces in consortia to submit their bids. No bids have been submitted by independent companies. This is most likely due to the turnover requirements set out in the procedure, as well as the fact that the tender does not only cover construction, but also the preparation of technical designs and the processing of the detailed urban plan (PUP-PP).

It is striking that some of the consortia have submitted bids for more than one position, i.e. they are interested in building a larger section of the total 60-kilometer route.

For example, the well-known companies GP Group, Trace Group Hold, and Via-Plan, united in a consortium, have submitted bids for all three sub-sections, i.e., they are interested in building the entire route. The two companies have long been involved together in other road tenders related to road maintenance in the country or the construction of railway projects.

Another consortium showing widespread interest is DZZD “AM Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo-IPBH.” It includes Infra Expert, Patstroy VDH, Bitumina GmbH Bulgaria, and Hidrostroy, owned by the well-known construction boss Veliko Zhelev. They have submitted bids for both the first and second sub-sections. We would like to remind you that Zhelev is building parts of the Hemus motorway. The other company in the consortium, Bitumina GmbH-Bulgaria, is one of the companies that received advance payments for the construction of the Hemus motorway and was highlighted by former interior minister Boyko Rashkov.

Companies associated with Veliko Zhelev continue to participate in other tenders. This shows Zhelev's continued strong presence in the construction sector, despite his statements in 2023 about rethinking his business in Bulgaria after his arrest.

Another large construction company in Bulgaria, GBS, has also expressed interest in the contract. Its subsidiaries, GBS Infrastructure Construction and GBS Global Construction, are participating with a bid as part of the DZZD Obhod Vt consortium.

The consortium also includes the companies Puttingengineering, Puttingengineeringstroy-T, and Putting Stroezhi – Veliko Tarnovo. The latter are linked to Grigor Ivanov. Our team has already described these links in an article related to the mega-contracts for road repair and maintenance.

At that time, Grigor Ivanov was indirectly linked to construction boss Veliko Zhelev, who until 2023 had a stake in Road Construction – Veliko Tarnovo.

Another interesting consortium is Geopam 2025, with participants Geostroy, Patsroy-92, Avtomagistrali – Chernomorie, and Yuksel. It has submitted a bid for the second sub-section. Geostroy was selected to build the intermediate metro station in Sofia between Lyulin and Obelya. In addition, over the years it has participated in the modernization of various NKZI sites, as well as in the construction of lot 1 of the Vidin-Botevgrad expressway. In the latter project, Geostroy partnered with Patsroi-92. This partnership continued with regard to tenders for major repairs in the country.

The other company, Avtomagistrali – Chernomorie, built one of the lots of Hemus (between Shumen and Targovishte) and was among the companies that protested in 2021 over unpaid funds for the repair of the Trakia motorway between Chirpan and Stara Zagora.

International presence

DZZD “Byala – Tarnovo Lot 1,” where the leading partners are two other large companies – Groma Hold and European Roads – have submitted a bid for the first sub-section. It is noteworthy that they are partnering with a Romanian company, as well as a number of Bulgarian companies, which is perhaps the largest consortium participating in the procedure. It also includes Road Maintenance-Sliven, Euro Stroy Construction, Infra Pro Consult, Georesurs, Geotechnika-ABS, and the Romanian company Sc Danlin Xxl Srl.

Almost the same configuration of companies, but led by European Roads, is participating with a bid for the second sub-section in the consortium “Lot 2 Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo.” However, this consortium includes another Romanian company with a similar name, SC Danlin NNL srl Romania, as well as the Bulgarian company Nivel Stroy. This is the company that last year won the extremely expensive tender worth BGN 140 million for the southern bypass of Burgas. The Breznica-based company is also a contractor for road maintenance in the Sofia and Yambol regions.

The Turkish company Doush Inshaat ve Ticaret is part of the DZZD Dogush consortium. It is involved in the construction of the Sofia metro, and in the current procedure it is partnering with the Bulgarian company AB, and together they have an interest in the third sub-section. The Haskovo-based company often participates in other tenders in consortia with companies from Grigor Ivanov's group.

The Italian company Todini Costruzioni Generali S.p.A. is one of the participants in the AM Ruse - Lot 3 consortium, which is interested in the third sub-section. It is joined by Bulgarian companies such as Monolit Sofia, Ingstroyengineering, ORS - Infrastructure, and PST Group.

Bids for sub-lots

For sub-lot 1 (from km 76+040 to the intersection with the Hemus Motorway):

• DZZD “Magistrala 2025,” with participants “GP Group” AD, “Trace Group Hold” AD, and “Via-Plan” EOOD;
• DZZD “BYALA – TURNOVO LOT 1”, with participants “Groma Hold” EOOD, “European Roads” AD, Road Maintenance-Sliven EOOD, Euro Stroy Construction EOOD, Infra Pro Consult EOOD, Georesurs EOOD, Geotechnika-ABS EOOD and the Romanian SC Danlin XXL SRL;
• DZZD “AM Ruse - Veliko Tarnovo-IPBH,” with participants “Infra Expert” AD, “Patrostroy VDH” EAD, “Bitumina GmbH - Bulgaria” EOOD, and “Hidrostroy” AD.

For sub-section 2 (from the intersection with the Hemus motorway to the intersection with road I-4 Veliko Tarnovo – Sofia):

• Consortium “Geopam 2025”, with participants ‘Geostroy’ AD, “Patrostroy-92” AD, “Avtomagistrali - Chernomorie” AD and “Yuksel” AD;
• DZZD “Byala-Tarnovo,” with participants “Trace Group Hold” AD and “GP Group” AD;
• DZZD “Lot 2 Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo,” with participants “Nivel Stroy” EOOD, “European Roads” AD, Planex Infrastructure EOOD, Alve Consult EOOD, Eterna Construction AD, Road Maintenance-Sliven EOOD, Romanian SC Danlin NNL SRL Romania, and Geotechnika-ABS OOD;
• DZZD AM Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo-IPBH, with participants Infra Expert AD, Patstroy VDH EAD, Bitumina GmbH - Bulgaria EOOD, and Hidrostroy AD.

For sub-section 3 (from the intersection with road I-4 Veliko Tarnovo – Sofia to road II-55 Debelets – Nova Zagora):

• DZZD “Magistrala 2025”, with participants “GP Group” AD, “Trace Group Hold” AD and “Via-Plan” EOOD;
• DZZD Dogush EOOD - AB AD, with participants Dogush EOOD, AB AD, and Doush Insaat Ve Ticaret AD;
• DZZD “Obhod VT,” with participants “GBS - Infrastructure Construction” AD, “GBS Global Construction” EAD, ‘Patinengineering’ AD, “Patinengineeringstroy-T” EAD, and “Road Construction - Veliko Tarnovo” EAD;
• Association “AM Ruse - Lot 3,” with participants “Monolit Sofia” AD, ‘Ingstroyengineering’ EOOD, “Ors - Infrastructure” OOD, “PST Group” EAD, and “Todini Costruzioni Generali” S.P.A.;
• LOT 3 BYALA-VELIKO TARNOVO DZZD, submitted by European Roads. It is assumed that the companies in the consortium are in the same configuration as for the other lots in which European Roads participates.

Translated with DeepL.