News

Civil Aviation Administration Directorate General allowed aerial photography flights in Bulgarian airspace to update the Google database. The flights will start on July 23 in the Plovdiv region. They will continue until September 30, 2022, covering the cities of Sofia and Varna. The planes are scheduled to fly at an altitude of over 1,000 meters, depending on weather conditions. This type of flight is specific and requires multiple overflights over the specified settlements.

The European Commission approved the project for the modernization of the Voluyak-Dragoman railway line, which is part of the Railway Corridor to the border with Serbia. The project has a total value of BGN 166.2 million, which will be provided by OPTTI 2014-2020. Of these, BGN 130.2 million are European funds.

In May of this year the Government allowed the conclusion of a Financing Contract between MTC and the beneficiary National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC), before the final approval of the project by the EC, which is already a fact.

The Minister of Transport and Communications signed a Decision on conversion and approved the Contract for the creation of "National Company Bulgarian State Railways" EAD. The transformation was implemented by merging "BDZ-Passenger Transport" EOOD and "BDZ-Freight Transport " EOOD into "Holding Bulgarian State Railways" EAD and renaming it.

In February, Minister Nikolay Sabev presented the future restructuring, part of the large-scale change in Bulgaria's transport system.

National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) has announced market consultations for the implementation of the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) - level 2, in the Ruse-Kaspichan railway section. The project includes the activities of design, supply, construction and commissioning of new systems for ERTMS level 2, dispatch management, security equipment, telecommunications, GSM-R/FRMCS, passenger announcement systems and information electronic boards, clock system, video surveillance of stations and railway crossings, etc.

Bulgaria and Romania will work together to ensure the necessary navigability of the Danube River, it became clear during the meeting today in Ruse. The host of the meeting, on the initiative of the European Commission and the Danube Commission, was the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov.

The Government adopted a decision to terminate Plovdiv Railway Station Concession Contract. The proposal to terminate the contract was made by the concessionaire. Plovdiv Railway Station Concession Contract was concluded in 2013 and entered into force in 2015. The reason for the termination of the Concession Contract was the construction activities started by the National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC)on the territory of the station under the Plovdiv Railway Junction Development Project, which is financed with funds from the EU.

Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev suggested that the requirement to replace the electronic taxi devices be postponed by 6 months. With the provision that came into force on July 8, 2022, electronic taxi devices must have assessed compliance under the Law on Technical Requirements for Products.

For the first time in many years, the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River (EAEMDR) began to carry out dredging on its own in the Bulgarian section of the Danube River. The dredging activities started after targeted funding from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to EAEMDR. In this way, the commitments undertaken by the Bulgarian side to ensure the navigability of the Danube River are fulfilled.

"Port of Varna" EAD will continue to implement the policy pursued by the Ministry of Transport and Communications in relation to the commitment to Ukraine for handling grain cargoes, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov stated.

"I will demand from the newly appointed Executive Director of the Port, Ivaylo Gavrailov, to implement a flexible and active commercial policy in order to comply with our expectations", Varbanov added.

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.

Small and medium-sized companies in the field of telecommunications and licensed Internet service providers can use an investment loan from the Bulgarian Development Bank. The initiative to create the financial instrument belongs to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

A guarantee has been provided by the Pan-European Guarantee Fund, under a program of the European Investment Fund, for direct financing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Investment loans range are from BGN 100,000 to BGN 1,000,000.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications is organizing an information day for Bulgarian companies and organizations, at which the rules for participation and the possibilities for financing under European programs in the field of digital and transport connectivity will be presented. The Connecting Europe Facility and the Digital Europe program provide a total of more than 470 million euros for projects.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications launches market research on delivery and maintenance of new electric multiple units, locomotives  and ETCS on-board equipment.

The new rolling stock includes 42 electric trains, 20 push-pull electric trainsets, 18 pcs. electric battery shunting locomotives and 108 ETCS on-board equipment. The total planned financial resource is over 1 billion BGN and will be provided from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

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.

The provisions of the Mobility Package I lead to negative economic consequences for road transport in the European Union. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov at a Round Table on Global Transport and the War in Ukraine in the framework of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov and the Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu confirmed that the Working Groups between the two countries have identified specific measures and steps to be taken to reach the final resolving of the issue. Both sides met in the framework of the International Transport Forum in Leipzig.

We are accelerating the steps towards the actual implementation of the measures identified under the Fast Danube Project. Together with Romania, we will seek European funding to create normal conditions for navigation on the Danube more days a year and with a greater capacity of ships in the next few years. This was stated by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev during the Christening Ceremony of the newly built shunting ship "Iskar", owned by the Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River.

An inspection is underway, ordered by the Minister of Transport and Communications Nikolay Sabev, in connection with the signal spread by the Fighter Association to cover up irregularities in the activity of Union Ivkoni. The facts and circumstances surrounding the organization and implementation of inspections of the bus company, carried out over the years by employees of the Road Transport Administration Executive Agency, are being clarified.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications and the National Railway Infrastructure Company signed an Agreement to finance the project "Modernization of the railway line Sofia - Dragoman - Serbian border, railway section Voluyak - Dragoman - Phase 1". The financial assistance granted amounts to BGN 166.2 million, which will be provided by OPTTI 2014-2020.