The main subject of the meeting between the Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Ivaylo Moskovski and Constantin Dascalu, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania was the enhancement of the cooperation between the two countries within the framework of a project aimed at improving the navigation in the critical sections of the Danube river - Batin (Romania) and Belene (Bulgaria). The two officials discussed the creation of a joint working group to execute the project during the programming period of Operational Programme Transport. The beneficiary from the Romanian side was also named -AFDJ - which has similar functions to the Bulgarian beneficiary, Executive Agency "Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River." During the meeting, other projects were also discussed which will improve the navigation along the Danube river. Ivaylo Moskovski and Constantin Dascalu agreed on preparing and coordinating their positions on the inclusion of such projects during the 2014-2020 period. The indicative value of the Belene-Batin project is 138 million euro, 117.3 of which have been allocated by the European Regional Development Fund and another 20.7 million euro have been provided through national co-financing. The project aims at improving the navigation safety along the Danube, part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor VII, and at improving the navigation conditions in the two critical sections of the river. The poject is of mutual interest. The Bulgarian part of it is financed under the Operational Programme Transport, while the Romanian part of it - under the ISPA programme. For additional information: Milan Martinov, Press Centre, Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Phone: + 359 2 940 96 25 E-Mail: mmartinov@mtitc.government.bg |