Summary:

At the end of the consultations the mayor of Bankya Mr Milor Mihailov concluded that none of the present people supports the project. He underlined that if the consultation was dated for a proper time by the Roads Executive Agency (REA) there would have been much more people to express their disagreement. He also underscored that as a district and as a municipal administration during preceding discussion they presented an objection related to the previous Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). The objection is based on the regulation issued by the Ministry of Health that concerns the "B" protected zone of the resort.
Associate professor Denev, leader of the discussed EIA report said that they had only worked on one variant of the route which is the investment proposal by REA and it is approved by the Supreme Expert Council of the Ministry of Regional Development. This route should solve the problem with the access to Sofia, doubling the current road through the villages of Dragichevo, Vladaja, Knjazhevo. Mr Denev weaved that 7 different variants were considered in the near past.
Professor Sainov, an expert in physics from the Bulgarian Academy of Science, underlined his disagreement with the environmental norms which currently exist because they were made in relation with older requirements for internal-combustion engines, etc. In the future the norms will become more strict which is the cause of strong development of the railway transport in France despite the existence of highly developed motorway infrastructure. He also underlined that what Mr Denev said delicately and distantly passes around key points which are going to be especially significant in a very close perspective.
It was highlighted that there are few places in the world with characteristics of the air such as these in Bankya.
Prof. Dzhemileva-Konova stressed on the Appeal for saving Bankya signed by 22 academicians, member-correspondents, professors and associate professors who are the greatest experts in the following disciplines - chemistry and environmental chemistry, environmental toxicology, engineering environment and environmental studies, geology, geodesy, medicine - inner diseases, cardiology, alergiology, pharmacology. She underlined that there is not such a highway neither close to Baden-Baden, nor to Karlovi Vari, which is near the national public health station with unique qualities that cannot be destroyed. She also emphasized on the fact that those who had signed the appeal want our accession to the European Union, which means the construction of the Trans European Corridors, to happen as soon as possible, but it should be in a sensible and less harmful way for the people and nature. That is the reason why everybody who had signed this appeal want to redirect the route to either of the other possible routes, which are environmentally acceptable - "green - green line", and the one at the back of the Ljulin mountain, which is the best: "the shortest way to Europe", as characterized by eng. Poltislav Vasilev.
Mrs Lozanova from Bankja, doctor in soil sciences, melioratio and soil arosion, Pushkarov Institute, underlined in her presentation that this route is NOT acceptable: the environment of a still untouched and clean mountain, probably the only clean region direcly bordered on Sofia, such as the Ljulin mountain, will be distroyed. Moreover, it is a region with beautiful landscape and generally a region, where there is a good potential for tourism development. Mrs Lozanova also noted that according to her all the villages, from Malo Buchino to Ivanjane, in the next 20 years will turn into a zone of individual dwelling building of people who try to escape the town and look for pure environment and comfort. This is the most perfect way for development of these regions, for the construction of sports facilities, kindergardens, etc. Constructing the motorway through this region will forever destroy all these perspectives! Fatally and irretrievably! She also pointed out the big additional minus: the route ends in the bypass, which currently is hell, at a distance of 500 to the blocks. This is absurd! The motorway passes in the same direction as the 80% of the air streams do - from West.
This pollution will be localized not only in this region, it will also reach the center of Sofia. And there is also an acummulation of the pollution. She also noted that during the public consultation in the village of Ivanjane, she had seen a new route proposed by another designer, which passes through Vladaja, but above the existing road without going into the quarter of Knjazhevo, doubling the west arc of the bypass 500 meters westwards and going neither into Gorna Banja, nor into Bojana. It was also underlined that the route passes through zones of mineral pipings.
Moreover, it was stated that the calculations of the noise pollutions are prepared according to regulations which will be changed inevitably and, what is most important, treating the closest zones to Bankja as residentioal, that means to exclude the possibility of appropriate development of these territories. It was expressed a suspicion about the noise reduction projects. Besides that the shield effect wasn't completely taken an account according to the words of the expert Mrs Cheljova.
Prof. Sainov stressed on again that the norms according to which the project is approved ineviatbly will be subject to descending correction in the future - in respect of both pollution and noise. He also weaved that the only place towards which the city of Sofia has a perspective for development is Bankja. And with the construction of this motorway these regions will practically become depopulated. For this reason one should not talk with norms and numbers because they change every day. For example in California where even want to avoid the pollution with the assistance of electric automobiles. But we cannot expect this to happen here in the next 20 - 30 years for a big motorway which will connect the new members of European Union like Latvija and Estonija with Greece.
Engineer Poltislav Vasilev form Bankja showed the alternative route - at the back of the Ljulin mountain, the shortest way to Central Europe. He declared that the heavy transit traffic must not be let into Sofia which is already overloaded.
The associate professor Denev talked about the distant elusion of Sofia that will be constructed after 30 years with tunnel extension in The Petrohan passage et cetera with the aim to move away from Sofia the whole transit traffic and that is the real location for it. Engineer Poltislav Vasilev underlined that this namely is the main idea and invoked to do it right now. The associate professor Denev admited that in this case the Ljulin motorway will be temporary part of the Trans European Corridor IV and in fact it will serve to Sofia. Engineer Poltislav Vasilev weaved how extra expensive would be that motorway: 150 mln Euros for 18 km i. e. 8 mln per kilometer from which 25% by the State Budget! Zhorzheta Mileva asked the question is the Ljulin motorway а Trans European Corridor or is it a local route at the end? Mrs Siika Lazarova formulated that this is local route that will become Corridor IV. Zhorzheta Mileva insisted again for a categorical answer of the question whether this is local route or part of the Trans European Corridor? Or both? And what will be the name of the distant elusion - will be called Trans European Corridor? The associate professor Denev said that this is one access to Sofia which is a continuation of the Strouma motorway which goes to Kulata. This route called Ljulin motorway will serve to the capital. It is the alternative of the existing route through the villages of Vladaja, Dragichevo and the quarter of Knjazhevo. And that the distant elusion of Sofia will be the real Corridor IV, and the Ljulin motorway will maintain the traffic to Sofia. Zhorzheta Mileva concluded that at the end it became clear that the Ljulin motorway actually is a local motorway. And the European Union won't give the money not because of the demostrating people but because of the other side which is trying to lie.