The first phase of extending the Sofia subway will start in the beginning of 2008 and is expected to finish by the end of 2011.

The tender for choosing a company, which will execute the first construction phase has already began, investor.bg reported.

It will include the section between Nadezhda residential district, the Central Railway Station, Sveta Nedelia square and Cherni Vruh Boulevard. It will be 6.5 km long, divided into seven underground stations.

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) will provide 80 per cent of the funding and 15 per cent will be national co-funding under a contract with the European Investment Bank.

The project envisions the construction of underground parking lots, including one in the residential district of Lozenets with nearly 600 parking spaces.

The second part of the subway extension will connect the residential districts of Mladost, Druzhba and Sofia Airport. Funding is to be provided by European funds. The construction will start in 2009 and will continue four years.

The subway's capacity is expected to reach 450 000 people per day, which is 38 per cent of the total number of public transport passengers.

The traffic in Sofia will be reduced by 12 per cent and annual greenhouse gas emissions will decrease by 680t.