Twenty firms and consortia have submitted offers to repair Sofia's roads, the municipal authorities said. The deadline to file papers for the public procurement expired yesterday and the bids are scheduled to be unsealed on Monday.

Two state-run companies are also racing to fill Sofia's potholes over the next four years. These are Avtomagistrali, which is owned by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, and Transport Construction and Rehabilitation, owned by the Ministry of Transport.

Bids have also been submitted by current contractors GBS Infrastructure Construction, Patishta I Syorazheniya, owned by copper company Elatsite Med, and Road Construction Equipment, a unit of Holding Roads.

The other candidates include Austria's Strabag, which is also bidding to construct Sofia’s waste treatment facility; a tie-up led by Trace, which builds a section of Sofia’s underground system as well as Sofstroy, Balkanstroy and SK-13 Patstroy.

Offers were also filed from ISA 200, which is also bidding in the Trakiya motorway tenders, and BAKS 99, the waste manager for one of Sofia's areas. The municipality will pick six winners, which will be handed contracts to service between three and five regions.