Public Relations and Protocol

France is one of the countries in Europe with the most developed rail transport and we will borrow experience and good practices in this area. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov during a meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of France H. E. Joel Meyer.

We are already working to provide more trains on the route between Plovdiv and Edirne as an alternative to the ever increasing car traffic. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at a meeting today with the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey H. E. Eileen Sekizkok. He added that two trains a day — one in each direction — currently run on this destination.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications will strengthen control over the implementation of the of Sofia Airport concession. According to the concession contract, a joint committee of the Ministry and representatives of the concessionaire must meet every month to regularly monitor the implementation of the contract. This became clear during today's meeting of the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov with the Executive Director of Sofia Airport Jesus Caballero.

The digital sector is one of the fastest growing in Bulgaria and we are in the top 10 countries with the fastest mobile internet in the world. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Grigori Grigorov, who represented Bulgaria in the high-level panel within the Council of the International Telecommunication Union. The event took place from 7 to 11 July 2023 in Zheneva.

Bulgarian Posts has sufficient resources for development, but wrong management decisions and lack of long-term strategy have hindered this process so far. This is what the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov said on the occasion of the prepared restructuring plan of the company, which will be presented to the European Commission in September.

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 deadlines for the completion of infrastructure projects under EU-funded programmes are very important. We are open to solving all cases in dialogue to avoid delays. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at a meeting with the leadership of the Bulgarian Chamber of Builders.  
The Ministry of Transport and Communications is the structure that strictly follows the methodology for indexation of construction contracts, said the President of the Board Eng. Ilian Terziev. 

Our policy is aimed at ensuring the sustainable development of the transport sector, in line with the principles of security, safety, energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. We have started active work on accelerating all transport projects that are linked to the implementation of the European Union's green and digital transition objectives.

Interview of Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov for the newspaper 24 Hours, the conversation was conducted by Mariana Boykova

Many transport companies are still waiting for their meaningful reforms and are in urgent need of modernisation. We are opening a dialogue with experts and trade unions in different areas to jointly seek the best solutions and solve the problems that have accumulated over the years. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov during a meeting with the President of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (KNSB) Plamen Dimitrov and representatives of the trade union organization.

I have briefed the Prime Minister in detail on the helicopter situation in the area of the Garden Camp on 1 July and a decision has been taken to dismiss the Director General of the Directorate General ‘Civil Aviation Administration’. This was announced before journalists by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov. The reason is both the specific flight incident, which is against all the rules, and the reasons to believe that this is not an isolated incident, but rather a recurrence.

Interactive videos in the theory tests will measure the knowledge of driver candidates. The videos were presented to the media today by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov and the Executive Director of the Executive Agency ‘Automobile Administration’ Boiko Ranovski. 

We are working to implement projects that will facilitate the process of building sustainable and greener ports. In this way Bulgarian ports will become strategic hubs for green energy, trade and distribution. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Mihneva-Natova during an event on the project ‘EALING — European flagship action for cold ironing in ports’, which takes place today in Burgas.

Bulgaria and Georgia will develop the potential of the Black Sea as an alternative to land transport corridors between Asia and Europe and to digital connectivity networks. This was stated at a meeting today by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev and the new Ambassador of Georgia to our country Otar Berdzenishvili.

The full use of the potential of the Black Sea and the Bulgarian ports is extremely important for the transportation of goods from Asia to Europe. This was the general opinion during a video conferencing between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev and the Minister of Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Finland Ville Skinnari.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Krasimir Papukchiyski and Turkish Ambassador Aylin Sekizkök sent the second freight train with 36 prefabricated houses for the severely affected by the earthquake in Turkey.

The train departed at 5:00 p.m. from the Central Railway Station in Sofia. The transportation is provided on two courses along the Kurilo - Svilengrad East Border - Kapukule - Halkali Station - Svilengrad, and the carrier is BDZ Freight Transport EOOD. The first composition that delivered the first 12 wagons with 36 houses left to Turkey on March 7, 2023.

For first time in 50 years, a new railway tunnel was built in Bulgaria. This is what the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev stated during an inspection of progress in the construction of the Elin Pelin - Kostenets Railway Section.

The EC is open to asses  proposals to co-financing the design and construction of a third bridge on the Danube River at Ruse and Giurgiu and the second phase of the Fast Danube 2 navigability improvement project.

This became clear during a video conference between Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean and the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications, Hristo Alexiev.

The project "Increasing transport safety in the common Bulgarian-Romanian stretch of the Danube River by improving the response to emergency situations through cross-border cooperation" - Danube Safety Net - was successfully completed. This was reported during the closing meeting, which was held in the city of Ruse on October 6-7, 2022.

The Danube Safety Net project is a good example of effective cooperation aimed at achieving a higher level of transport safety, as well as implementing national and European priorities in the field of inland waterways.

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.