The financial value of the projects proposed under two measures of the Rural Development Program exceeds three times the agreed budget, the Agriculture State Fund (ASF) said on Monday. These measures are 321: "Basic Services for Consumers and the Economy in Rural Areas" and 322: "Renovation and Development of Population Centres".

A total of 1,275 project proposals worth 3,300,000,000 leva have been submitted since the inauguration of the measures, while the budget is set at 1,048,794,299 leva.

ASF experts have so far processed 807 proposals under measures 321 and 322, totalling 2,360,000,000 leva. They have approved 330 proposals under the municipal measures of the Rural Development Programme, with a total value of 692,000,000 leva.

During the latest application window between September 20 and October 22, the ASF received 468 project proposals, including 241 proposals under Measure 321 and 227 proposals under Measure 322. The money paid under the measures totals 267 million leva.

This included advance payments for 264 projects. The ASF paid 183,000,000 leva for 115 projects under Measure 321 and 83,660,000 leva for 149 projects under Measure 322. The advance payments allowed under the Rural Development Programme until the end of 2010 are half the value of the approved investments.

Source: BTA