Bulgaria, Türkiye, and Romania will work together to develop new road and rail connections to ease the growing traffic between the three countries and to strengthen the region’s role as a key logistics corridor linking Europe, the Middle East, and the Caucasus.
This became clear during a trilateral meeting between Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadjov, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, and Romanian State Secretary for Transport Horatiu Cosma, held yesterday.
At present, most of the traffic between Bulgaria and Türkiye passes through Kapitan Andreevo and, to a lesser extent, through Lesovo, while traffic to Romania mainly goes through Ruse and, less frequently, through Vidin. The great intensity leads to almost constant congestion and delivery delays. Data on our road network show that traffic to and from Bulgaria is growing by more than 20% annually. The situation is similar with our only railway connections to Türkiye – traffic there has already reached the capacity limit of the modernized line from Svilengrad to Plovdiv. We must start thinking now about solutions to these problems, because transport flows to and through Bulgaria will double over the next five years if the trend continues,” said Minister Karadjov.
The repair of the Danube Bridge at Ruse and the kilometer-long queues caused by it clearly demonstrated how vulnerable our transport connectivity with our neighbors is. We need alternative routes – both road and rail – to ensure the stability of logistics chains,” he added.
Minister Karadjov emphasized that the “Black Sea” motorway, which will connect Istanbul – Varna – Romania – Moldova – Ukraine, is a natural continuation of the Southern Transport Corridor and should be viewed as a shared infrastructure goal of the three countries.
Together with Romania, we must determine the northernmost point of the motorway – Durankulak, Kardam, or Silistra. At the same time, it is time to bring to the table the issue of a fourth bridge over the Danube between Silistra and Călărași, which would provide additional connectivity along the North – South Axis,” the Deputy Prime Minister added.
On the Turkish side, Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu confirmed that Ankara supports closer cooperation between Türkiye, Bulgaria, and Romania, including through public-private partnerships and joint project proposals to international financial institutions.
During the bilateral meeting between Grozdan Karadjov and Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, the two also discussed the project for a second railway line along the Svilengrad–Plovdiv route, intended to ease the burden on the current line, which is operating at 90% of its capacity.
“The second strategic project that will ease the logistics pressure in the region is the Edirne –Hamzabeyli – Lesovo – Yambol railway line. It will provide an alternative connection along the South – North Route,” Minister Karadjov noted.
