Photo by BGNES
The 30km border fence between Bulgaria and Turkey will be completed by June, assured Bulgaria’s Defense Minister Angel Naydenov.
The fence aimed at redirecting refugees only towards the official border checkpoints has sparked much controversy over the past months. In March, it was revealed that the Ministry of Defense had miscalculated the cost of the fence, writing up the sum by BGN 4 M, raising the overall price to BGN 9 M.
A number of international human rights organizations also criticized Bulgaria for its plans to build the border fence, calling it an anti-humanitarian measure to keep refugees away. The Ministry of Interior argued that it is only designed to make the process of receiving asylum seekers official, and to deter potential terrorists from entering the country unchecked.
Minister Naydenov admitted that the construction work on the fence had been slowed down as a result of the financial miscalculations as well as the poor weather conditions, but promised it will be ready in the time envisioned.