Transport

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 development of direct transport connections was discussed at the video conference meeting between the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The talks were headed by Deputy Ministers Nikolay Naydenov and Rahman Hummatov with the participation of representatives of civil aviation administrations, port operators, road transport administrations, railway carriers and Sofia Airport. H.E. Mr.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Naydenov transferred the mandate of the Chairmanship of TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission (TRACECA) to Georgia. The organization's sixteenth annual meeting is being held in Tbilisi, Georgia.

On the initiative of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev, under the leadership of Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov and together with the DG Civil Aviation Administration, a Working Group was formed to establish a mechanism for coordinating the configuration of U-space air space. U-space is the European system being developed for unmanned drone traffic management. It is a set of specific digital services and procedures designed to provide drone operators with safe and efficient access to airspace.

The motor ship Vera Su was auctioned today. This is the fourth bidding procedure that the Maritime Administration Executive Agency organized. One company participated in the auction today - "Varsa Shipping" OOD, which offered to buy the vessel at the announced starting price - 276,000 US dollars without VAT.

The Bulgarian company deals with repairs and maintenance of vessels. The buyer has transferred 10 percent of the price as a deposit, the submitted documents have been verified and meet the requirements and criteria.

The intermodal Transport Corridor Thessaloniki-Kavala-Alexandroupolis-Burgas-Varna-Ruse will soon not be just an ambitious plan, we are determined to make it a reality. This was the common statement expressed at a meeting today between the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev and the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport of Greece Kostas Karamanlis. Rail and road connectivity, as well as cooperation between Bulgarian and Greek ports, was the main topic of the discussions.

Bulgaria and Turkey have taken additional measures to ease the heavy traffic through the border crossing points. These efforts would continue, but alternatives related to rail and water transport of goods and cargo would also be sought. The goal was to increase the number of operating intermodal trains from 7 to 22. This was stated by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policies and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev after a meeting with the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey Adil Karaismailoglu.

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 Ministry of Transport and Communications announces competitions for the selection of members of the Management Authorities in 9 Public Enterprises. Competitions are announced for enterprises in which, at the moment, members of the management bodies have been appointed without a competition procedure.

Munich Airport will have an active role and commitment to Sofia Airport development project. This became clear during the meeting of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Hristo Alexiev with the President and CEO of Munich Airport Jost Lammers, as well as with the CEO of Sofia Airport Jesus Caballero.

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.

"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.

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.

This is the largest procedure launched under the Recovery and Resilience Plan. The deadline for receipt of proposals from all interested parties is 30 June 2022. The total number of proposals received across all 5 calls is 32.

I am convinced that people involved in road traffic must go through such training and exams, go through a needle's eye to acquire skills with which to avoid dramatic situations on the road. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev at a meeting with representatives of unions and associations of teachers in driving schools. Deputy Minister Nikolay Naydenov and Deputy Chairman of the State Agency for Road Safety Dimitar Iliev also took part in the discussion at the initiative of the Road Transport Administration Executive Agency.

Under the auspices of the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev is the celebration in Ruse of the 15th Anniversary of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union. The event will be celebrated on Europe Day, 9 May.

The initiative is a joint one with the Elias Canetti International Society and Ruse Regional Administration.

Minister Sabev will host a panoramic boat trip on the Danube River, which will include representatives of the diplomatic corps in Bulgaria, as well as local authorities from Bulgaria and Romania.

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.

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.