The government approved Thursday changes in the Roads Act to pave the way for the transformation of the National Road Infrastructure Fund (NRIF) into a National Agency for Roads Infrastructure, said the government press office. The new agency will report directly to the government.

The legislative changes were prepared by an interagency expert group set up by a government decision of May 29 in the wake of a scandal involving NRIF and followed by partial suspension of EU funding for NRIF-managed projects.

The bill of amendments says that the government will be reponsible for formulating the state policy for planning, building, manageing and maintaining road infrastructure. It also says that that the Transport Minister will be in charge of setting the state policy in respect of the development of the national road network (including motorways, first-, second- and third-class roads) and the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works in charge of the second- and third-grade roads.

The new agency will be a first-level spending unit. It will be headed by a Supervisory Board of five and an executive director. The Supervisory Board members will be subject to approval and apointment by the governmente on the proposal of the Prime Minister and the Ministers of Transport, of Regional Development and of Finance. The Board will control the work of the director and the whole management, the distribution and spending of resources, will approve the agency's budget and all public procurement procedures. It will be aided by an audit department. The executive director of the agency and two deputies will be appointed by the Prime Minister.

The changes are aimed to overcome failures in the work of NRIF, improve coordination and interaction with the state bodies competent for formulating the policy in this sector - including by signing agreements with the managing authorities for the Operational Programmes Transport and Regional Development - in the implementation of projects funded by the Cohesion Fund and the European Regional Development Fund, said the government press office.