“We must act swiftly to increase the capacity of the rail and road connections between Bulgaria and Turkey—both to enable people to travel more easily and quickly, and to ease the heavy freight traffic coming from Istanbul. Northbound freight will be able to enter Bulgaria via a high-speed road at Malko Tarnovo, and by rail at Lesovo. Bulgaria plans to grant a concession for the construction of the “Black Sea” motorway, along with two extensions: a four-lane road north of Varna to the Romanian border, and another of the same profile south of Burgas to Malko Tarnovo. Meanwhile, the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) will construct a new railway line from Yambol to Lesovo, while the Turkish Railway Infrastructure Corporation will build the connecting section from the border to Edirne.” These topics were discussed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadjov, and the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.
The two discussed the acceleration of bilateral actions on these projects during the Global Forum for Transport Connectivity, held in Istanbul. This was their second meeting within ten days, following their talks on 18 June in Sofia.
Deputy Prime Minister Karadjov stressed the need for rapid commencement of both the rail and road infrastructure projects. He presented the plans for the Yambol–Elhovo–Lesovo–Turkish border–Edirne railway line, as well as the Black Sea Motorway.
“Neighbours must support one another. When you have a problem, the first door you knock on is your neighbour’s. In the coming years, we will increasingly use the south–north route through Bulgaria,” said Minister Uraloğlu.
