The Bulgarian government will stage the tender to pick builders for the second section of Trakiya highway by the end of January, construction minister Rosen Plevneliev said yesterday. The announcement came as the bids were unsealed of the eight candidates racing to build the section between Stara Zagora and Nova Zagora of the 115-kilometre highway linking the Bulgarian capital and the Black Sea city of Bourgas.

The winner for the 32-km section should be named by March 12. The selection process will be implemented under draconian security measures, Plevneliev said. The selection commission will hold its sessions at the special hall of the Defence Ministry. The independency of choice will be also guaranteed by extensive CCTV and video footage, while a notary will make records of the entire process. In the next stage of the competition, the price proposals will be opened at the Defence Ministry.

Construction of the Stara Zagora-Nova Zagora section should commence at the beginning of May, with works on the remaining sections scheduled to start every next month, Plevneliev said. The full Trakiya project should be completed by June 2, 2012, according to prime minister Boyko Borissov.

Among the candidates, companies controlled by local businessman Vassil Bozhkov have joined forces with two foreign players including Austria’s Alpine and Croatia’s Constructor Engineering. Bids have been submitted also by two wholly-Bulgarian tie-ins - Trace Group Hold has teamed up with SK 13 Holding, and Avtomagistrali Shoumen Cherno More and Glavbolgarstroy. Greece’s Aktor and Terna, Austria’s Strabag and Turkey’s Dogus İnsaat have submitted individual bids. The home building companies that had purchased tender documents have jettisoned plans to race in the tender.