Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications

The Public Councils at the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications have been functioning for more than a year now. That was stated today during the meetings of the Public Council on transport, information technology and communications by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Petar Kirov.   

During the meeting of the Public Council in the field of Information Technology and   Communications a national plan for next generation broadband access was presented. It is part of Bulgaria's commitments on the preconditions for access to EU funds. The objectives of the strategic planning document which are consistent with the priorities set out in the Digital Agenda for Europe were discussed.

The main objective in the Plan is to provide access to internet with speed of more than 30 Mbps for everyone and some 50% or more of the households to subscribe to internet connections at speeds exceeding 100 Mbps by 2020.

Within the Council, the draft Roadmap for the implementation of the Strategy for e-government in the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2014 – 2020 was discussed. The document defines the timeline and stages of development of e-government in Bulgaria. The Roadmap covers a period of six years (2014 - 2020), which are separated into three stages. Currently, a review of the electronic services for the identification of priority services is undergoing in the administrations. As a result of the analysis, targets will be set for the consistent development of the electronic services.

One of the issues discussed during the Public Council within the "Rail Transport" sector was the possibility of establishing a company to perform the repairs of locomotives owned by “Holding BDZ”.

The company will be set up with the participation of BDZ - Passenger, BDZ - Freight and private firms, if needed, that have specialized equipment to perform such activities. Deputy Minister Petar Kirov stressed that the establishment of such company will increase the safety of railway operations, which is a top priority for MTITC. 

Initially the company will perform only the major repairs of the locomotives and then it will take the small and the medium scale repairs and the daily technical support. The Executive Director of "Holding BDZ", Hristian Krastev, explained that the goal for the newly established company is to start repairing private locomotives owned by Bulgarian companies and companies in the region.

The idea for the realization of this type of enterprise was supported by representatives of the trade unions, the branch and the nongovernmental organizations. 

The proposals for amendments to the Ordinance for design and construction of railway lines, railway stations, level crossings and other elements of the railway infrastructure were also discussed. 

The Executive Director of Executive Agency "Maritime Administration" Capt. Georgi Tsvetkov presented the issues raised and the decisions of the sub-division of the Tripartite Council on Water Transport held on March 28, 2014 in Varna. The status of harmonization of Bulgarian legislation with the requirements of the Maritime Labour Convention was discussed, as well as the opportunities to update the ordinance to collect statistical information about the port operators and owners of harbors. 

The participants in the Council on road transport were presented with information on the course of changes in the Road Transport Act related to the requirements for recording and reporting of sales of tickets or season tickets for bus transportations. Information about the talks on a new agreement on road transport between Bulgaria and Turkey was presented, as well as the topic of age and number of seats in taxis.

During the Public Council on Air Transport the possibilities of developing a new aviation law were discussed. Participants in the Council on road and air transport supported the idea of forming a sub-division councils where to discuss, on an expert level, specific ideas and proposals to address issues and problems of the sector. Such sub-division councils already operate in water and rail transport, and communications.