Public Relations and Protocol

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.

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.

"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.

The Bulgarian side is ready to provide airport fee incentives and suitable time slots for landing and take-off for air carriers to carry out regular flights between Sofia and Riyadh and Varna - Dammam. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov during a meeting today with the Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Minister Plenipotentiary H.E. Naif bin Asai.

In a joint operation by the Road Transport Administration Executive Agency , the Ministry of the Interior and the National Revenue Agency, two cars were taken off the road for one year for carrying out unregulated passenger transport through the "Maxim" application. The registration plates of the vehicles were removed, the documents of the cars and the drivers were seized. The imposed sanction for this type of violation is BGN 2,000. Pre-trial proceedings have been initiated for the cases.

Civil Aviation Administration Directorate General allowed aerial photography flights in Bulgarian airspace to update the Google database. The flights will start on July 23 in the Plovdiv region. They will continue until September 30, 2022, covering the cities of Sofia and Varna. The planes are scheduled to fly at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, depending on weather conditions. This type of flight is specific and requires multiple overflights over the specified settlements.

The European Commission approved the project for the modernization of the Voluyak-Dragoman railway line, which is part of the Railway Corridor to the border with Serbia. The project has a total value of BGN 166.2 million, which will be provided by OPTTI 2014-2020. Of these, BGN 130.2 million are European funds.

In May of this year the Government allowed the conclusion of a Financing Contract between MTC and the beneficiary National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC), before the final approval of the project by the EC, which is already a fact.

Bulgaria and Romania will work together to ensure the necessary navigability of the Danube River, it became clear during the meeting today in Ruse. The host of the meeting, on the initiative of the European Commission and the Danube Commission, was the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov.

Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev suggested that the requirement to replace the electronic taxi devices be postponed by 6 months. With the provision that came into force on July 8, 2022, electronic taxi devices must have assessed compliance under the Law on Technical Requirements for Products.

For the first time in many years, the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River (EAEMDR) began to carry out dredging on its own in the Bulgarian section of the Danube River. The dredging activities started after targeted funding from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to EAEMDR. In this way, the commitments undertaken by the Bulgarian side to ensure the navigability of the Danube River are fulfilled.

"Port of Varna" EAD will continue to implement the policy pursued by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in relation to the commitment to Ukraine for handling grain cargoes, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov stated.

"I will demand from the newly appointed Executive Director of the Port, Ivaylo Gavrailov, to implement a flexible and active commercial policy in order to comply with our expectations", Varbanov added.

Funding opportunities in upcoming competitions under the Connecting Europe Facility and Digital Europe Program were presented today at the Euro Techno Info Day. The Ministry of Transport and Communications announced the topics and application requirements in advance to give companies and organizations time to prepare successfully.