Organisers: Civil Institute in partnership with AACE Region 9 Europe & Africa
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
CHALLENGES TO PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS:
GOOD DATA GOVERNANCE IN CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
Sofia, 6 October 2026, Vitosha Hall, Vitosha Park Hotel
The conference is organised by the Civil Institute in partnership with AACE Region 9 Europe & Africa (Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering) – part of AACE International, a global professional organisation founded in 1956, bringing together professionals in cost engineering and cost management, project controls, planning and scheduling, estimating, risk management, asset management and commercial management.
Conference program follows the text.
Registration form: www.ppp.bg/en/registration-2026/
AACE develops and maintains an internationally applied body of professional knowledge, recommended practices and professional certification standards. One of its key methodological frameworks is the Total Cost Management Framework (TCM) – an integrated approach to managing costs throughout the entire life cycle of projects, programmes and assets.
The conference is conceived as an annual professional, institutional and expert forum dedicated to one of the key challenges in the modern management of public infrastructure – the quality, accessibility, comparability, interoperability, traceability and effective use of data throughout the entire life cycle of construction and infrastructure projects.
The central premise of the conference is that good data governance should no longer be viewed solely as a matter of public disclosure, transparency or digitalisation. It is a fundamental prerequisite for evidence-based prioritisation and planning of public investments, reliable cost forecasting and management, effective schedule and performance control, risk management, efficient procurement, high-quality design and construction, and the sustainable management of infrastructure assets throughout their life cycle.
In this context, data are becoming a strategic resource for the sound governance of public investment – a resource that enables evidence-based decision-making, makes projects traceable and comparable, and allows outcomes and the public value created to be measured.
PROGRAM, 6 OCTOBER 2026, 10.00 - 15.00 EET
10.00 - 10.20
Opening Session
Dr Hristo Hristozov, LL.M. — Executive Director, Civil Institute
Dr Mirela Tsagkari — Director, Region 9 Europe and Africa
Marin Gergov, Engineer — Chair, Chamber of Engineers in Investment Design
Tsvetko Tuzharov, Engineer — Chair, Bulgarian Association of Consulting Engineers and Architects
Viktoria Penkova, Attorney-at-Law — Chair, Bulgarian Society of Construction Law
Dr Mirela Tsagkari — Director, Region 9 Europe and Africa
Marin Gergov, Engineer — Chair, Chamber of Engineers in Investment Design
Tsvetko Tuzharov, Engineer — Chair, Bulgarian Association of Consulting Engineers and Architects
Viktoria Penkova, Attorney-at-Law — Chair, Bulgarian Society of Construction Law
10.20 - 10.45
Dr Mirela Tsagkari — Director, Region 9 Europe and Africa, AACE
From Budget Forecast to Final Cost: Total Cost Management in Accordance with AACE Recommended Practices, Project Controls and Reliable Benchmarking
10.45 - 11.00
Associate Professor Galina Cherneva, PhD — Faculty of Law, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Challenges in Developing Public–Private Partnership Legislation in Bulgaria
11.00 - 11.25
Alexander Kashumov, Attorney-at-Law — Executive Director, Access to Information Programme
Standards for Access to Public Information and Open Data on Public Infrastructure Projects under European Union Law and National Legislation, Administrative Practice and Case Law
11.25 - 11.40
DISCUSSION
11.40 - 12.00
Coffee Break
Data and Partnerships
12.00 - 12.35
Evelyn Hernandez — Technical Director, CoST
Data Standards for Infrastructure Projects: From Information Disclosure to Better Decisions for Projects and Public–Private Partnerships
12.35 - 13.00
Dr Hristo Hristozov — Executive Director, Civil Institute
Delcho Delchev, Architect — Head of the Strategic Planning and Monitoring Department, National STEM Centre, Ministry of Education and Science
Delcho Delchev, Architect — Head of the Strategic Planning and Monitoring Department, National STEM Centre, Ministry of Education and Science
Panel Discussion:
Good Infrastructure Governance: Public–Private Partnerships, Value for Money and the Data Needed to Make Sound Decisions
Good Infrastructure Governance: Public–Private Partnerships, Value for Money and the Data Needed to Make Sound Decisions
13.00 - 14.00
Lunch & Professional Networking
Thematic Networking Tables
14.00 - 14.20
Nikolay Dobrev
Executive Director, BusinessSoft
Executive Director, BusinessSoft
Demonstration of WorkStream.Construction: The Infrastructure Project Lifecycle as Data — OCDS, OC4IDS and CoST IDS Standards, Building Information Modelling (BIM), a Common Data Environment (CDE), and Financial and Project Data
14.20 - 14.45
Diana Bancheva — Managing Partner, ProActiveSolutions
Dr Mirela Tsagkari — Director, Region 9 Europe and Africa, AACE
Dr Mirela Tsagkari — Director, Region 9 Europe and Africa, AACE
The New Construction Professional: Data Literacy from Vocational Secondary Education to AACE Expertise
14.45 - 15.00
Closing Interactive Session
Potential Pilot Models for Bulgaria in 2027
