Minister of the Environment and Water Asen Lichev has permitted, by letter, the Road Infrastructure Agency to present for environmental impact assessment the options for a route for a tunnel under Petrohan pass.

Minister Lichev informed the Agency that in view of the importance of the investment, the environmental impact assessment procedure will continue. On 3 June the procedure was halted because the tunnel route cuts across protected territories.

Three options for a future tunnel are being discussed, 7 or 4 kms. long. The volume of the tunnel is in question, as is whether it should be an expressway or a two-lane road. The Petrohan pass reduces the distance between Sofia, Northwestern Bulgaria and the river Danube by 46 kms. It is one of the four Bulgarian priorities under the Three Seas initiative.