News

National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) terminated the contract with the contractor of the project for modernization of the railway line from Sofia to Elin Pelin - DZZD KELET AB.

The national railway carrier reported an increase in its revenues for the first quarter of the year. In BDZ - Passenger Transport EOOD the increase in revenues is by 20%, which is a result of the increased number of passengers using railway transport. In BDZ - Freight Transport EOOD the revenue growth is by 10%, which is due to a greater number of executed orders for freight transport and renegotiated tariffs with the company's clients. Steps have been taken to improve the quality of the service offered, related to increasing of the level of comfort and servicing.

The Ruse-Giurgiu-Ferry line will resume operations. The resumption was enabled by the Agreement signed today between Bulgaria and Romania on the opening at the Bulgarian-Romanian border of the Ruse-Giurgiu-Ferry Border Checkpoint. The document was signed in the presence of the two Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Romania, Kiril Petkov and Nicolae Ciucă, by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Sorin Grindeanu and Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Vladimir Varbanov.

The opening of the Border Crossing will significantly ease the traffic on the Bulgarian-Romanian border.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov held a meeting today with representatives of the aviation industry. During the talks, a general opinion was expressed that timely and fair support from the State is needed to this very important sector of our economy.

On March 18, 2022, the European Commission approved the scheme to support Bulgarian air carriers.

Only in dialogue with the Municipalities we can achieve synergy between the different modes of public transport and a functioning National Transport Scheme. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Bozhidar Kostadinov in the framework of a meeting with the Mayor of Pernik Stanislav Vladimirov and the Regional Governor Kiril Stoev.

Designing of the city railway in Plovdiv will start promptly. This became clear during the visit of the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev in the largest economic zone in Plovdiv – Trakia.

45,000 people go to work every morning in private or company cars, and this is making it increasingly difficult to get around the city. Rail transport has good preconditions to offer an alternative, but so far the low frequency of the served routes, as well as the limited rolling stock have not allowed improvement in this direction.

From 10.00 on 14 April 2022, air carriers with an operating license of a carrier in the EU with a passenger authorization issued by the Director-General of the Civil Aviation Administration Directorate-General will have the opportunity to apply for government grants. The deadline for submitting applications is 4.30 p.m. on April 26, 2022. Applications are to be submitted to the Registry Office of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is already having a serious impact on all sectors of the economy, including the transport industry. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov during a ministerial video conference on the Consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine in terms of infrastructure investment. The event was attended by Ministers and Deputy Ministers from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.

Starting from April 25, the run of the international train between Sofia and Istanbul will resume. This became clear after the management of BDZ and the Turkish Railways (TCDD) agreed to run the train again before the start of the summer season.

The international train from Istanbul will depart at 22.00 on April 25, and arrive at Sofia Central Station at 09.35. In the opposite direction from Sofia to Istanbul the train will depart according to schedule at 18.30 on April 26, and will reach its final destination Istanbul in 07.00.

We are taking action to tackle the gray sector and unregulated road transport. Each received signal will be worked on jointly with the National Revenue Agency. This was announced by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev during a discussion on the vision for the development of public transport 2022 - 2027.

Next week, an expert council will start working, the first step of which is to synchronize the schedules between all modes of transport. The council will also address the short-term problems of carriers.

Smart cities can attract funding for projects under the Digital Europe Programme and the Connecting Europe Facility 2021-2027. The Ministry of Transport and Communications supports Bulgarian organisations and companies in applying for two mechanisms. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dilyan Berkovski at the conference "Digital Sofia – The Smart City". He informed that currently there is a possibility to apply in 28 competitions on different topics, and new opportunities will open in September.

Plamen Stanchev takes over the management of Sofia Airport EAD by Order of the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev.

The current Executive Director of Sofia Airport EAD, Krassimir Peshev, has been appointed a member of the Board of Directors of Plovdiv Airport EAD together with Doychin Angelov, pending a competition procedure.

Plamen Spasov and Petar Georgiev are released from the management of Plovdiv Airport EAD without being released from responsibility.

The Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev released the executive director of "Transport Construction and Restoration" Bozhidar Dzhelebov, and with this act he is not released from responsibility.

Ivo Yanakiev has been appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the company until a competition procedure is held.

The decision is in connection with the company's activities regarding the contract for the deepening of the Port of Varna, which is subject to checks by the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor's Office.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov called for a temporary suspension of the provisions of the Mobility Package I on the return of trucks until the end of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. This happened during today's informal video conference of the European Union's Transport Ministers.

The Deputy Minister pointed out that the war in Ukraine would have a long-term negative impact on the state of the economy and the functioning of the transport sector in the European Union.

"Results are obtained when working with the energy of the whole society and there is sensitivity to any interest", the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev said after the second meeting to discuss the Master Plan of the Port of Burgas East 1.

An agreement on the project was reached by all stakeholders.

The representatives of the legislative, executive and local authorities discussed all the proposals made and were unanimous that they are in the interest of the future development of the Port, as well as the city and the State.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Bozhidar Kostadinov met with representatives of the Polish railway industry. During the discussion, the possibilities for cooperation between Bulgaria and Poland were discussed.

Deputy Minister Kostadinov said that the exchange of experience is a useful move for sustainable development. "The Ministry of Transport and Communications ensures maximum transparency in the event of international investor interest, which in turn leads to a quality result", he added.

The team that prepared the Digital Connectivity part of the Recovery and Sustainability Plan today explained the goals and financial parameters of the executive directors of A1, Vivacom and Yettel.

"Plovdiv Railway Junction is one of the most important railway sites in Bulgaria, of great regional, economic and strategic significance. With the modernization of infrastructure and new rolling stock we will achieve the strategic goal - Bulgaria on track. This is our goal, which we would like to develop and achieve, namely the society to benefit from modern, fast and comfortable railway transport", the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Bozhidar Kostadinov said during the first-sod-turning ceremony of a project for the development of Plovdiv Railway Junction.

War in Ukraine increases the need to create an International Transport Corridor Persian Gulf - Black Sea. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Stoyan Novakov at the opening of the 6th Expert Meeting on the Multilateral Agreement on the Transport Corridor.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications sent letters to the mayors of Ruse and Burgas, asking them to take action to transfer ownership of Ruse Airport and Ravnets Airport to the structure of the Ministry.

This is part of a targeted policy to restore the operation of small regional airports.

Minister Sabev proposes that airports become state-owned within the meaning of Art. 43 b of the Civil Aviation Act. This will allow them to be managed by an airport operator with 100% State participation, and without the need for changes in the laws.