News

Bulgaria will render assistance before the European Union in terms of the acceleration of the construction of the railway infrastructure along Corridor VIII on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Krasimir Papukchiyski at a meeting with the general directors of the managers of the railway infrastructure companies of the two countries.

The Bulgarian and Romanian Maritime Administrations will hold a closing meeting in connection with the completion of the project "Increasing transport safety in the common Bulgarian-Romanian stretch of the Danube River by improving the the emergency response through cross-border cooperation" – Danube Safety Net. It will take place in the city of Ruse on October 6 and 7, 2022. The partners will report and discuss the results achieved and the technical and financial implementation of the project.

At the beginning of his mandate, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications, Hristo Alexiev, took immediate action to prepare and submit for consideration to the European Commission the "Transport Connectivity" Program 2021-2027. After a consistent policy and efforts, the Transport Connectivity Program 2021-2027 was approved today by the European Commission. This is the first major infrastructure program for Bulgaria that has been adopted by the European Commission. The budget of the program is approximately 1.61 billion euros.

Bulgaria will be involved in shaping the policy and strategies of one of the UN’s most prestigious agencies - the International Telecommunication Union, which has 193 Member States. Today, at the elections during the Plenipotentiary Conference in Bucharest our country received 137 votes. Bulgaria was elected from the Region C quota, which includes countries from Eastern Europe and Northern Asia.

The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications, Hristo Alexiev, sent a letter to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey, Adil Karaismailoglu, regarding reports from Bulgarian maritime associations on the spread of information about a planned fivefold increase in tariffs for passage through the Black Sea Straits, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Aleksiev presented the Bulgarian candidature for a member of the ITU Council - the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences. The ITU is the oldest organization of the United Nations. The Deputy Prime Minister opened today’s Plenary at the Plenipotentiary Conferences in Bucharest, Romania, which was dedicated to political statements.

Bulgaria and Romania agreed on a third bridge over the Danube River. The infrastructural facility will be constructed at Ruse – Gyurgevo. For this purpose, an agreement will be signed between the two countries. In another document, they will regulate the commitments of the two countries for the implementation of the Fast Danube Project and the creation of a joint company to manage the activities of the project. This was agreed upon by the Deputy Prime Ministers of both countries, Hristo Alexiev and Sorin Grindeanu, at a meeting in Bucharest.

The motor ship Vera Su, which ran aground about a year ago, will be auctioned by open bidding. The initial price is determined based on an expert assessment prepared by a licensed independent assessor.

The stated auction price for the sale of the vessel is USD 460,000 excluding VAT. To participate in the auction, a deposit of 10% of the initial auction price of the vessel being sold is required.

Agreement on cooperation in the technical maintenance of the fairway of the Danube River  between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Serbia was signed today in Belgrade by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria in Belgrade  Petko Doykov and the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia Tomislav Momirovich.

Urgent measures to stabilize BDZ begin. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Krasimir Papukchiyski at a briefing held today.

Bulgaria and Serbia will work together to guarantee their energy resources in view of the upcoming cold season. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications, Hristo Alexiev, after speaking with the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia, Tomislav Momirovich.

The necessary measures for introducing a new organization of heavy goods traffic at the Danube Bridge in Ruse were discussed during the meeting held today in the city. The Interdepartmental Working Group established between MTC, MRDPW and the Ministry of the Interior identified four points allowing the parking of heavy goods vehicles - Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo, Razgrad and Byala in order to ease the traffic in the city of Ruse, as well as the construction of buffer parking.

The State is mobilized the gas connection to be completed before the beginning of the cold season. This is what was the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Crisis Group, Hristo Alexiev, said after an inspection with the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Ivan Shishkov, of the route in the Bulgarian section of the Intersystem Gas Connection Greece-Bulgaria.

By order of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev, Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov checked the organization of work at Danube Bridge 2 border crossing point. The reason for the inspection was the kilometer-long queue of heavy-weight vehicles at the exit of the country.

Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov announced that a Framework document had been prepared between Bulgaria and Romania to ease the procedures for crossing the border checkpoint. An official opinion of the Romanian side on the document is expected.

The evacuation of all passengers from the bus that crashed in the night on Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo road was successful. This became a reality after the immediate action taken by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev.

Dialogue with the road transport industry has been restored. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev after a meeting with representatives of branch organizations in the field of road transport of passengers and goods. He added that taking urgent measures to achieve sustainability in the road transport sector is one of the important steps to guarantee the country's economic stability.

I am thoroughly acquainted with the transport system, my main task will be to reduce the tension in the sector. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications in the Caretaker Government, Hristo Alexiev, upon assuming the post today.

One hundred and seventy-four municipalities receive an additional subsidy for the transport of passengers on bus lines for 2022. The funds, in the amount of BGN 36.5 million, were allocated by a Decree of the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The Ministry requested up-to-date information from the Mayors of all municipalities on whether they have commissioned transport on bus lines and whether they have valid contracts with carriers, regardless of the type of transport scheme (republican, regional or municipal).

The Bulgarian side highly appreciates Austria's achievements in the International Civil Aviation Organization and will support its candidacy for the ICAO Council in the upcoming elections in the period 27 September - 7 October 2022. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov during a Meeting with the Ambassadors of Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and the Chargés d'аffaires of the Embassies of Portugal and Belgium, to present the Austrian candidacy.

"BDZ- Freight Transport" EOOD initiates talks with the World Bank for the implementation of its investment program for the period until 2024. The company will negotiate for attracting up to 400 million BGN capital. The funds are needed for the acquisition of 5 new electric and 15 diesel locomotives, as well as 600 specialized freight cars. Investments in rolling stock and railway infrastructure are a top priority of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The program envisages major repairs of 10 units of locomotives and 250 units of freight cars.