News

The Varna ferry complex will become a key point for equipment and cargo to Ukraine in its reconstruction process. This was stated by Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov during a visit to the complex today.

We are actively working to improve transport connectivity between Bulgaria and Romania by building new bridges over the Danube, restoring ferry links and ensuring efficient shipping. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov during a Bulgarian-Romanian conference "United Europe — a path to economic security and sustainable integration", held yesterday in Ruse.

I look forward to making the necessary efforts to complete by the end of the year the activities under OP Transport and Transport Infrastructure (OPTTI) 2014-2020. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Natova at the opening of the third meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Transport Connectivity Programme (TCP) 2021-2027 in Plovdiv.

In planning investments under the Transport Connectivity Programme 2021-2027, a balance will be sought between North and South Bulgaria. This became clear during a meeting between the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov and Agnes Monfre, Head of Unit "Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovenia" at DG Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission. They discussed the projects set for funding under the 2021-2027 TCP.

Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov inaugurated the modernised Stara Zagora railway station. "One of the main railway junctions in Bulgaria is located here, where the North-South and East-West lines cross and last year alone more than 412 000 passengers passed through it," Minister Gvozdeykov said during the ceremony.

The restoration of the facade of the Ministry of Transport and Communications on 9 "Deacon Ignatius" Str., which restored its authentic appearance from 100 years ago, has ended.

The building is part of the archaeological reserve "Ancient Serdica and Medieval Sredets". It was built at the beginning of the 20th century on the site of the house of the Bulgarian politician and public figure Petko Karavelov. The reception room of Karavelov while he was a minister and prime minister of Bulgaria was here.

Public organisations can apply to the Connecting Europe Facility call for 5G projects. The total budget is €51 million for all EU countries and the deadline for submission of project proposals is 20 February 2024.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications, as the national coordinator for the Connecting Europe Facility for the digital sector, is conducting an extensive information campaign among universities, municipalities, public service providers and operators to help them prepare their projects.

The Director General of DG Civil Aviation Administration Anelia Marinova handed over the certificate of operational suitability of the first hospital heliport, built on the territory of UMBAL Uni Hospital in Panagyurishte. It is designed to service flights for the needs of the air emergency medical assistance system.

We already have full digitisation of document handling in our seaports and paper is about to be completely phased out. This was said in Burgas by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov during the presentation of a national system for electronic exchange of information in Bulgarian seaports. The system was developed by the State Enterprise "Port Infrastructure" under an European project.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov participated in the 20th anniversary Vienna Economic Forum — Vienna Dialogue for the Future 2023. The theme of the forum is "Continuing to Build Economic Bridges through Difficult Times".

During the conference, opportunities for building efficient and reliable infrastructure, energy and digital networks were discussed. The economic and financial stability in Europe was discussed, as well as the challenges countries face when taking decisions related to economic cooperation.

Nearly 400,000 Bulgarians and 140 municipalities in remote areas where connectivity is not well developed will have access to high-speed internet at 1 Gbps over a fibre-optic network and will be covered by a 5G mobile network.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport and Communications signed an agreement to implement an investment from the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. Nearly 470 million leva will be invested to build and improve connectivity in remote and rural areas of the country.

The Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov hosted a meeting to discuss policies and measures to introduce sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility.

State Enterprise "Port Infrastructure" launched the project for the extension of the port terminal Burgas-West. The contract with the Contractor has been signed and work is due to start within days. Its implementation will allow the handling of some of the largest ships in the world with drafts up to 14.5 m and 80,000 gross tons.

Reaching new greater depths in the water area of the port of Burgas will provide the necessary prerequisites for the development of the terminals and will create more favorable conditions for the terminal operators.

More than  BGN 4.4 million will be saved by freight railway carriers next year as a result of changes in the tariffs of the National Railway Infrastructure Company. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at a briefing today with the management of the National Railway Infrastructure Company on the occasion of the change in the prices of some services of the company.

We are working to improve cross-border links with Greece and the region, including both road and rail connectivity. This is what the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Natova said during the Southeast Europe Connectivity Forum, which is taking place yesterday and today in Thessaloniki.

The Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Dimitar Nedyalkov presented the awards in the category "Transport Infrastructure Construction" during the Annual Ball organized by the Bulgarian Chamber of Builders for the Builder's Day - 26 October.

The Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov met today with BDZ and NRIC employees from all over the country. The main topics of the talks were remuneration and working conditions in both companies, as well as issues related to staff shortages.

The meeting was organized on the initiative of Minister Gvozdeykov in connection with numerous complaints and signals received from railway employees.

We are going to buy on-board devices for safe control of 89 trains, 64 of which are for BDZ. The introduction of ERTMS on trains is an important step to ensure that rail transport is safer. This was announced by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov at the opening of an international Bulgarian-Turkish business forum in the railway sector, which gathered today in Sofia more than 50 railway companies from Bulgaria and Turkey.

Since 2016, the project for the Plovdiv railway junction has been approved and coordinated several times by the Plovdiv Municipality, and now they saw a problem with its implementation. This was said by the Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdejkov during an inspection of the construction activities around Plovdiv Central Station.

The Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov and the Minister of Tourism Zaritza Dinkova met with the Director of Civil Aviation for Europe and Asia of the Boeing Corporation Mario Ebsim and representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce. The main topic of the talks was the development of the aviation industry and tourism in Bulgaria.