The fee for public procurement appeals in Bulgaria will be tied to the value of the deal, according to a set of proposed legal changes.

Speaking Tuesday at the annual conference on industrial construction and investments, Deputy Prime Minister Daniela Bobeva announced that the tariff for appealing public procurement procedures was to be approved next week by the Council of Ministers.

She said that the new provisions were to curb meaningless appeals delaying the implementation of a number of projects, including important EU-funded municipal projects stipulating strict deadlines for the absorption of the funding.

Bobeva, as cited by investor.bg, noted that the authorities were also working on the Implementing Rules for the Public Procurement Act.

She said that the professional organizations in construction already had a stance on the Implementing Rules, adding that the document was to be ready in a month.

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister also said that the first electronic tenders for pharmaceuticals and goods would be launched soon.

Bobeva informed that Bulgaria was cooperating with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on electronic tenders for the supply of services.

She warned, however, that electronic public procurement would not be introduced in the construction sector anytime soon.

Bobeva made clear that the government's reindustrialization strategy would most probably be presented on Thursday.

She said that the government shared the belief of NGOs and academia that Bulgaria needed concrete measures to encourage the industry.

Bobeva noted that a total of around BGN 150 M had been earmarked for industrial infrastructure, mostly roads, under the Public Investment Program of the government.

She explained that the money would suffice to cover the rehabilitation and construction of around 350km of roads.

Bobeva added that the reindustrialization strategy also envisaged a form of public-private partnership under which the business sector would share the costs for the construction of the necessary infrastructure.

Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister drew attention to the fact that the construction of industrial parks with EU funding was also included in the reindustrialization strategy.

She cited the poor industrial infrastructure, the low energy efficiency of Bulgarian enterprises, the high administrative burden in the construction sector, and the unfair public procurement procedures as major problems with a negative impact on growth.

"Solving these problems will have a direct impact on growth," she added.

She reminded that the current government had started implementing three packages of measures aimed at cutting red tape, stressing that a large part of these measures concerned the construction sector.