Skip to content
InfraWorldWide
← All projects
Highways

A1 Trakia Motorway

Bulgaria's main east–west motorway, 360 km from Sofia to the Black Sea port of Burgas by way of Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Yambol and Karnobat. Construction began in 1973 and the last section opened on 15 July 2013, 40 years later.

Total length
355 km
Open today
355 km
Sections
8
Cost on record
€707.538M
5 of 8 sections carry a comparable figure

Restated into EUR at 2025 prices.

Loading map data…

Sections

Sections of A1 Trakia Motorway: status, length, dates, cost, funding and contractors
SectionsStatusLengthTimelineCostFundingContractorsContract terms
Sofia – Novi Han
14
Show on map →
Opened10 km
  1. 1973Construction start
  2. 1978Opened
–
  • National budgetAll motorway construction in Bulgaria before 1990 was funded solely from the state budget.
––
Novi Han – Plovdiv

Length from the chainage: km 10, where the first section to the Novi Han turn-off ended in 1978, to km 132, where the 1995 Plovdiv – Orizovo section begins (Bulgarian Wikipedia).

124
Show on map →
Opened122 km
  1. 1984Opened
–
  • National budgetAll motorway construction in Bulgaria before 1990 was funded solely from the state budget.
––
Plovdiv – Orizovo

Cost at opening: 700 million leva (pre-1999 BGL), per BTA, 1995.

134
Show on map →
Opened32 km
  1. 1988Construction start
  2. Nov 17, 1995Opened
–
  • LoanEBRD financing agreement of 1993 under the Transit Roads I programme, which also covered rehabilitation of the main road network. Shares as stated by the Prime Minister at the opening; works began in 1988, before the agreement.
  • National budget
––
Orizovo – Stara Zagora
25671415
Show on map →
Opened39 km
  1. 2002Tender awarded
  2. 2003Construction start
  3. Oct 5, 2007Opened
  • Actual лв198.16M(2006)
  • LoanEIB loan, shared with Karnobat – Burgas.
  • National budget
  • PSI (RUNWAY-BG consortium leader)Builder
  • Мостстрой (RUNWAY-BG consortium)Builder
Contract value €46M
Stara Zagora – Nova Zagora
28915
Show on map →
Opened32 km
  1. Apr 23, 2010Tender awarded
  2. Jun 9, 2010Construction start
  3. Jul 1, 2012Opened
  • Estimated €64MExpected value for Lot 2 Stara Zagora – Nova Zagora (32.35 km) in the Phase II project plan published on the PHARE-funded portal stroitelstvo.bg, reproduced by Transparency International Bulgaria in 2005. VAT and price year not stated.
  • European UnionOperational Programme Transport 2007–2013, Priority Axis II, project Completion of Trakia Motorway Lots 2, 3 and 4. Project total after tendering: 524.48 million BGN for the three lots, of which 513.97 million BGN was OP Transport grant, 80% of it from the Cohesion Fund. No per-lot split published.
  • National budget
  • Trace Group HoldBuilder
Contract value лв137.868M
Nova Zagora – Yambol
281016
Show on map →
Opened36 km
  1. Jul 14, 2010Tender awarded
  2. Aug 2, 2010Construction start
  3. Jul 12, 2012Opened
–
  • European UnionOperational Programme Transport 2007–2013, Priority Axis II, project Completion of Trakia Motorway Lots 2, 3 and 4. Project total after tendering: 524.48 million BGN for the three lots, of which 513.97 million BGN was OP Transport grant, 80% of it from the Cohesion Fund. No per-lot split published.
  • National budget
  • ActorBuilder
Contract value лв133.97M
Yambol – Karnobat
28111217
Show on map →
Opened49 km
  1. Aug 31, 2010Tender awarded
  2. Oct 6, 2010Construction start
  3. Jul 15, 2013Opened
–
  • European UnionOperational Programme Transport 2007–2013, Priority Axis II, project Completion of Trakia Motorway Lots 2, 3 and 4. Project total after tendering: 524.48 million BGN for the three lots, of which 513.97 million BGN was OP Transport grant, 80% of it from the Cohesion Fund. No per-lot split published.
  • National budget
  • Trakia IV consortiumBuilder
Contract value лв209.646M
Karnobat – Burgas

Projected cost when works began: 45.8 million euro, VAT and price year not stated (Mediapool, 12 May 2003).

257131415
Show on map →
Opened35 km
  1. 2002Tender awarded
  2. May 2003Construction start
  3. Nov 2, 2006Opened
  • Actual лв150.266M(2005)
  • LoanEIB loan, shared with Orizovo – Stara Zagora. No per-lot split published.
  • National budget
  • Dogus & EkoBuilder
30 mo execution · Contract value €54M

Contractor roles are as recorded in the award. Only builders count toward the delivery rankings.

Funding

  • National budget355 km
    8 sections
    • All motorway construction in Bulgaria before 1990 was funded solely from the state budget.
  • European Union117 km
    3 sections
    • Operational Programme Transport 2007–2013, Priority Axis II, project Completion of Trakia Motorway Lots 2, 3 and 4. Project total after tendering: 524.48 million BGN for the three lots, of which 513.97 million BGN was OP Transport grant, 80% of it from the Cohesion Fund. No per-lot split published.
  • Loan106 km
    3 sections
    • EBRD financing agreement of 1993 under the Transit Roads I programme, which also covered rehabilitation of the main road network. Shares as stated by the Prime Minister at the opening; works began in 1988, before the agreement.
    • EIB loan, shared with Karnobat – Burgas.
    • EIB loan, shared with Orizovo – Stara Zagora. No per-lot split published.

A section that lists two sources counts its full length under each: the data records which sources paid, not what share each one carried.

Related projects

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: A1 motorway (Bulgaria)
  2. Bulgarian Wikipedia: Автомагистрала Тракия
  3. BTA: PM Videnov opens 32-km section of Trakia motorway (17 November 1995)read Sep 25, 2026 · archived copy
  4. MRRB / Road Infrastructure Agency: Priorities for road infrastructure construction in Bulgaria to 2020 (draft strategy)read Sep 25, 2026
  5. Econ.bg: Opening of a section of Trakia motorway (5 October 2007)read Sep 25, 2026
  6. Trace Group Hold: Trakia Highway from Orizovo to Stara Zagoraread Sep 25, 2026
  7. Actualno.com, reprinted by Botevgrad.com: Пари газим, по дупки пътуваме (27 November 2007)read Sep 25, 2026
  8. Road Infrastructure Agency: Completion of Trakia Motorway Lots 2, 3 and 4, project descriptionread Sep 25, 2026
  9. Road Infrastructure Agency: Lot 2 Stara Zagora – Nova Zagoraread Sep 25, 2026
  10. Road Infrastructure Agency: Lot 3 Nova Zagora – Yambolread Sep 25, 2026
  11. Road Infrastructure Agency: Lot 4 Yambol – Karnobatread Sep 25, 2026
  12. Road Infrastructure Agency: The construction of 115 km of Trakia Motorway under OP Transport is completed (15 July 2013)read Sep 25, 2026
  13. Mediapool: Consortium of two Turkish firms starts construction of a Trakia motorway section (12 May 2003)read Sep 25, 2026
  14. MRRB: Lot 5 Karnobat – Burgas-Zapad junction of Trakia motorway openedread Sep 25, 2026
  15. Transparency International Bulgaria: Granting a Concession on Trakia Motorway, Interim Report (April 2005)read Sep 25, 2026
  16. Investor.bg: Гръцката Актор с най-ниска оферта за Лот 3 - 111,6 млн. лв. без ДДС (19 May 2010)read Sep 28, 2026
  17. Строителство.инфо: Лот 4 на магистрала Тракия вече има разрешение за строеж (31 August 2010)read Sep 28, 2026 · archived copy
  18. OpenStreetMap contributors (geometry, ODbL)read Aug 14, 2026