Construction of the new section of the second line of the underground in the Bulgarian capital is going according to schedule and the new Vitosha station is expected to be opened in July.

This was stated by Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova who inspected the progress of construction on Tuesday.

President of the Committee of the Regions, Markku Markkula, also inspected the construction and expressed delight with the investments made in the metro.

According to Fandakova, 99 % of the construction works have been completed and it is almost certain that the deadline will be met and the station will be opened by July 31 at the latest.

Construction works, which began two years ago, are expected to be fully completed by the end of June, with trials beginning in May.

The station has six entry and exit points and is located at the intersection of Cherni Vrah boulevard and Srebarna street.

The new section of metro 2 has a length of 1.3 kilometres, spanning the distance from James Bourchier station to Hladilnika neighbourhood.

The cost of the section amounts to BGN 42 M, with expectations being that the new station will serve 20 000 people on a daily basis.

With the opening of the new section, the total length of the underground will become around 40 kilometres.

According to estimates, the extension of the second line will increase the number of people using line 2 on a daily basis by 20 000, bringing the total number of passengers travelling on the metro to 370 000.

With the construction of the third line by the end of 2019, more than half a million people are expected to be travelling on the metro on a daily basis.