Priority Axis 2: Regional and Local Accessibility
Rationale
The objective of this priority axis is to enhance the quality of living and working environment with better access and new opportunities for increased regional competitiveness and sustainable development. This will be achieved through developing infrastructure related to transport, communication, information and gas networks enhancement.
Integration of the country territory through better accessibility and mobility appears as factor of crucial importance for acceleration of regional competitiveness, development and growth, and jobs generation. This integration is highly dependant on several key connecting infrastructures – secondary roads, telecommunications and gas distribution infrastructure.
This priority axis is designed to support the implementation of two NSRF priorities: Priority 1 “Improving Basic Infrastructure” and Priority 4 “Supporting Balanced Territorial Development” in coordinative and complementary manner with OP “Transport”, OP “Administrative capacity” and Rural Development Programme.
The state of the road network is one of the substantial limiting factors, which hampers the integration of the regions among themselves and in the European space, restricts workforce mobility, diminishes the access to various kinds of services and aggravates the disparities among the different areas, the consequence of which is the current underdevelopment of country peripheral areas.
One of the aims of this priority axis is to support the renovation and development of republican/ state and local road connections to provide better road accessibility between the different regions and within urban areas.
2nd and 3rd class roads, as part of republican road network, provide connections of national importance and service generally connections between large city centers and often pass through small towns and municipalities, which are part of the urban agglomeration areas. On the other side local roads are the municipal roads, being of local and regional importance for the regions. These roads also make the outside connections of the cities with the republican roads, i.e. 2nd and 3rd class roads.
Large part of 2nd, 3rd class and municipal roads in Bulgaria are in worn out condition and there is an urgent need to modernise these road networks in order to improve their safety, as well as to facilitate the development of tourism and accessibility to the public administration, health, educational and cultural facilities.
Improvement of the access for the most outlying areas is a reliable step to address the territorial disparities and intra-regional disparities. Providing the territory with appropriate roads and connections of good quality will increase inland mobility and will provide accessibility proxies to the opportunities delivered by the major backbone high-class networks. In this sense, improvement of transport accessibility as an element of quality of services comprises further construction and enlargement of the technical parameters and operating condition of the existing 2nd, 3rd class and municipal road network in the regions so that it may cover the greater part of the territory and a greater portion of the population may obtain good-quality transport services in terms of travel safety and shorter travel time.
Accessibility of cities and regions also matters as an important influence on the quality of life, the environment and the economic performance. Accessibility of large cities is an important factor for the development of their surrounding territories. In this respect, the quality of municipal road network within urban agglomeration areas is of crucial importance.
Information and communication technologies (ICT) offer new opportunities for the regions influencing the territorial distribution of economic activities. ICT offer an important chance for overcoming the “distance barrier” and the surrounding areas problems, typical for many peripheral areas. Overcoming the underdevelopment with respect to technological advance, knowledge-based economy and information society is a matter of decisive importance for the development of the national and regional potential and achievement of an intensive overtaking growth in the next decade. The possible applications of modern broadband infrastructure offer competitive benefits for business as well users of public services and households.
Efficient transport, adequate access to telecommunications and gas resources are basic prerequisites for strengthening the competitive situation of peripheral and poorly urbanised areas and hence for the economic and social cohesion. Transport and telecommunications opportunities are important factors in promoting the polycentric development. Efficient transport, telecommunications and gas distribution systems and services have a key role in strengthening the economic attractiveness of the different metropolitan areas and the urban centres of regional importance.
In particular, stronger connections will integrate medium-size cities and small towns to major urban centres and will increase their development function and role in contribution to the cohesive development of the regions.
Specific objective
To promote accessibility and connectivity within urban agglomeration areas, between urban agglomeration areas, their surrounding territories and the related poorly urbanised areas.
Beneficiaries
Municipalities, Road Infrastructure Agency, Executive Agency ‘Electronic Communications Networks and Information Systems’. Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism
The key areas of intervention within this priority axis are:
Operation 2.1: Regional and Local Road Infrastructure
Operation 2.2: ICT Network
Operation 2.3: Access to Sustainable and Efficient Energy Resources
Last modified: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 3:24 PM