Public Relations and Protocol

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov signed today the letter of completion under the Concession Agreement, with which both parties confirm that the preliminary conditions under the Agreement have been fulfilled. An essential condition for signing the completion letter was the receipt of BGN 660 million as Upfront Concession Fee in the state budget.

The starting date of the Concession came on April 19, 2021 and the activity of “SOF Connect” AD started from 24:00 on April 19, 2021.

The Additional Agreement to the Concession Agreement confirms the concessionaire's commitment to pay the upfront concession fee amounting to BGN 660 million, VAT included, to the state budget this month, as the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov stated today during its signing.

Development of railway infrastructure has a direct impact on the creation of new jobs, as stated Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during a video conference of the Ministers of Transport of the EU member states. He added that the deployment of the sector is crucial for the preservation of the investment level as well as for the promotion of multimodality.

Bulgaria has the best conditions in Europe for the professional realization of women in terms of duration of maternity leave packages, leadership roles and economic opportunities. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Andreana Atanasova during an online discussion a part of World Summit on Information Society.

The digital part of the Connecting Europe Facility 2 will invest 2 billion euro in European high-speed connectivity infrastructures, stimulating the deployment of fifth generation (5G) mobile networks. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Mrs. Andreana Atanasova in a video conference with representatives of the municipalities.

A response of the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov to a letter of the Deputy Chairman of the EB of BSP and Member of the 44th Parliament Georgi Svilenski is available in the attached file.

Silistra –  Călărași ferry line will be restored on March 15. It will be operated by a Romanian transport operator.

The first race will be carried out on March 15 at 8 am and will start at the Romanian shore. From this moment on, the activity of the authorities implementing obligatory border control at “Silista-Ferry” border crossing point will be restored too.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov and the Minister of Transport of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saleh al-Jasser signed a Memorandum and an Agreement on Air Services between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Tomorrow (2 March 2021) the Transport Terriotorial Medical Expert Commission (TTMEC) in Varna will commence work. The branch of the National Multi-profile Transport Hospital - Sofia in the sea capital will open under an ordinance of the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov. The TTMEC commission functioned in the city until 2008, when the Multi-profile Transport Hospital was transformed into a company for active treatment.

Executive Agency "Road Transport Administration" launches 9 new electronic administrative services. Thus, the agency services, which are offered electronically, become 67 out of a total of 84. Hence, the total number of provided electronic services exceeds 74%. The agency issues more than 330,000 administrative documents a year, more than 95% of which could be submitted electronically.

Rolling stock for BDZ will be financed with European funds for the first time under the Recovery and Resilience Facility of the European Union, stated the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during an online discussion on "Railway transport development prospects in Bulgaria”.

The concession of Sofia Airport has lots of advantages and no disadvantages, stated the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov from the rostrum of the National Assembly. He specified that currently the concessionaire has fulfilled most of the preliminary requirements and the Concession Agreement is publicly available and has been published in the National Concession Register.

"I call for the urgent protection of the free flow of transport traffic and for maintaining the normal functioning of the „green corridors”, stated the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov in a letter addressed to the EU Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean. The reason is the information on unilaterally applied measures and restrictions on drivers imposed by Member States. They lead to difficulties in the carriage of goods by road within the European Union.

The pandemic can be also seen as an opportunity, not just as a problem - an example is that in a month have been created the main modules of a health information system, which has been discussed for years and which gives us a completely different approach to the health system. Stated the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during an international video conference forum organized by the world economic edition The Economist.

Patriarch Kiril is a great clergyman who lived in turning times in a historical epoch, which in its tragedy has no analogue in human history. This was noted by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jelyazkov during the validation of a postal and philatelic edition on the topic "120 years since the birth of Patriarch Kiril Bulgarski".

The Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications paid BGN 29,119,637 to support bus carriers to deal with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the application deadline, 639 applications had been submitted. MTITC assessed administrative compliance and eligibility by approving for funding 580 bus undertakings with which it concluded grant agreements.

At least € 20 billion a year will be invested in artificial intelligence in Europe over the next 10 years, so the combined efforts of administrations, scientists, businesses and NGOs are needed to increase confidence in these technologies. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Andreana Atanasova during an online forum dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence and the digital economy.

The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications signed the Ordinance amending Ordinance № 34 on Taxi Transport of Passengers. The Ordinance was sent for publication in the State Gazette, and the changes are the result of lengthy discussions with branch organizations.

Some of the main changes stem from the latest amendments to the Road Transport Act and are related to the transition to the municipalities of the registration regime for taxi transport of passengers.

The Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications approved another 28 applications for funding from bus hauliers, worth a total of nearly BGN 2.4 million. This concludes the evaluation of all applications received in the first and second evaluation sessions, under procedure BG16RFOP002-2.091 "Support for SMEs operating bus services to overcome the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic". Thus, the Ministry provides operating capital to a total of 580 bus hauliers to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Within a week, there will be a final decision on the main changes laid down in the texts of Ordinance №34 on taxi transport of passengers. This became clear at today's meeting of the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov and representatives of the taxi industry.