The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is interested in investing in the construction of a second bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu, as well as in railway infrastructure projects in Bulgaria. This became clear during a meeting between the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov and the EBRD Director for Bulgaria Anca Ionescu. The two discussed partnership opportunities for the implementation of the upcoming investments in the transport sector.
‘The construction of a new bridge over the Danube is a priority issue that needs to be resolved quickly because traffic along this route is increasing daily. We believe that Bulgaria and Romania, as two countries of the European family, should work together and in partnership with the European Commission to implement this strategic project,’ the Transport Minister said. He added that any support that will help the implementation of the investments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and other European programmes in the transport sector is important. ‘We have the necessary financial instruments, which gives us great opportunities to achieve the goals, but we need to significantly accelerate work on their implementation,’ Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov further commented.
The Bank explained that so far it has invested more than BGN 10 billion in transport projects in Bulgaria. ‘Our priority is a second bridge over the Danube at Ruse-Giurgiu, which is increasingly important at European level. We are ready for future talks on the construction of a logistics hub at the port of Varna-West. In the green transport part, we want to invest in both the rehabilitation of the railway infrastructure and the construction of electric vehicle charging stations,’ Anca Ionescu said.
Minister Gvozdeykov pointed out that the ministry is ready at expert level to immediately consider all proposals from the EBRD, conforming them to the projects already planned within the European support programmes. ‘We will take a detailed look at your proposals for cooperation on important projects for the country, the aim being to start work in a short time on projects for which full funding has not yet been secured,’ he noted.
