The Bulgarian government has officially launched construction work on long-delayed highway projects, with Regional Development Minister Ivan Shishkov announcing the start of what he called the “forgotten highways” program, beginning with the Ruse-Byala section of the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo highway corridor. Shishkov said preparatory work for the route had been completed years earlier, including approved detailed development plans, expropriation conditions, and commissioned technical designs, but construction had not started despite being ready for implementation.