Credit Squeeze Wrecks Trakia Highway Deal

The global credit crunch may yet spoil the Trakia highway transaction, Standart daily reports.

The Bulgarian-Portugal consortium, Trakia Highway Jsc, which was named as the highway concessionaire by the previous government, has experienced difficulty in securing finance for the infrastructure project.

"I will ask concessionaries whether they have negotiated the loan necessary to bankroll the project within two weeks," said the regional development minister Assen Gagauzov, who signed a second annex to the highway contract on January 16, giving the consortium a 120-day period to find the resources for finishing the Sofia-Bourgas thoroughfare.

Rumoured possible lenders include the Portuguese bank Espirito Santo, Switzerland-based Credit Suisse First Boston bank or the Swiss UBS.propertywisebulgaria.com