The transport ministry has finalised the negotiations on the operational programme in the sector effective until 2013. EU regional policy commissioner Danuta Huebner is expected to sign the EUR 2bn agreement by the middle of the next month. It is the largest of the seven programmes amounting to a total of EUR 7bn. Some of the key projects under the programme refer to the extension of the underground transport in the capital Sofia , completion of the motorways Struma and Maritsa, and modernisation of the railroad to the Danube city of Vidin . Last month, EU commissioner Huebner and PM Sergei Stanishev signed the country’s operational programme for competitiveness while two other operational programmes for Human Capital Development and Administrative Capacity are approved by the European Commission. The country expects EUR 158mn by the end of the year in the three policy areas.