Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov
Regional Minister Ivan Shishkov has described the Hemus highway project as a system plagued by illegal construction, large advance payments and serious gaps between individual sections, but said construction will not be halted.
“The entire Hemus highway is prosecutorial, this is the path of robbery. We must get out of this situation,” Shishkov said during an inspection of Lot 4 in the Pleven region.
According to the minister, the main problem with Lot 4 is construction that began illegally in 2021. The works were carried out without approved investment projects and without a construction permit, while more than 70 million leva were advanced to Hemus Motorways AD that year under in-house contracts for materials and equipment rental. The activities were subsequently documented in 2026 as having been completed in the relevant year.
The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the construction of the section between Pleven and Letnitsa at the end of August.
