It is very important to speed up the construction of the transport corridors - from Thessaloniki to Vidin and from there to Northern and Western Europe, as well as the project that connects Alexandroupolis with Ruse on one side and with Varna and Burgas on the other. This is what Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov said at a meeting with the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of the Hellenic Republic Christos Staikouras in Sofia today.
Minister Karadzhov pointed out that it is important that talks be held soon between Bulgaria, Greece and Romania in order to present to the European Commission a common plan for the construction of the routes and to seek additional funding for the strategic projects on the North-South route.
The bilateral meeting took place during the participation of the ministers in the fifth edition of the Sofia Economic Forum.
‘Just a few weeks ago, there was a border between our two countries that made it difficult for both citizens and businesses - hours were wasted in waiting. For businesses, this translated into very real financial losses - over €500 million in lost profits. Today this obstacle has been overcome and the full accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the Schengen area is one of the most significant events for the region,’ the Bulgarian minister told the participants in the forum. In his words, more than 18,000 Greek companies are already operating in Bulgaria, with investments exceeding 3.5 billion euros. ‘This is proof that we have not only made a good start, but that our relations are developing at an excellent pace,’ Karadzhov said.
Grozdan Karadzhov also stressed that Corridor 8 remains a key logistics route along NATO's southern flank from the Adriatic to the Black Sea and is of great importance in the current geopolitical moment.
On Bulgarian territory, projects are being built along the Sofia - Plovdiv - Burgas and Karnobat - Sindel - Varna routes, with a total investment value of over BGN 3 billion. The missing railway connection from Gyueshevo to the border with the Republic of North Macedonia of about 2.4 km will be financed under the Transport Connectivity Programme.
The event is organised by the Delphi Economic Forum and brings together representatives of the state and non-governmental sectors, international experts and others.
