Bulgaria's troubled National Road Infrastructure Fund (NRIF) will be renamed to National Road Infrastructure Agency and will be directly reporting to the Government, according to a bill of amendments endorsed by the Cabinet at its June 26 meeting, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.

The bill has been drafted by an inter-departmental expert group, set up by the Government on May 29. The bill defines the authority of the Government and, in particular, of the ministers of transport and regional development, as the ones most affected by the operations of the fund in question.

The National Road Infrastructure Agency will have the status of a legal entity with a priority in disbursing budget loans. It will again serve as the umbrella for 27 road control departments, a central laboratory on roads and bridges and a department titled Road Tolls and Permits.

The agency will have a two-tier managerial structure, a supervisory board and a chief executive. The council will comprise five people, to be endorsed and recruited by the Government at the proposal of the Prime Minister and the transport, regional development and finance ministers.