site.btaFinance Ministry Considers Aiding National Railway Company and Limiting Bus Services

Sofia, June 1 (BTA) - The Finance Ministry is considering a 20 million leva interest-free loan to the Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ). "The money will come from the fiscal reserve," Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov told journalists on Friday. Goranov was commenting on BDZ Executive Director Vladimir Vladimirov's call for government intervention after a court ordered BDZ's bank accounts to be frozen because the carrier has overdue debts.

Goranov urged the Transport Ministry to do more in order to make railway transport a preferred option for passengers. It could propose measures to curb illegal carriage of passengers by road and to modify bus timetables so they do not coincide with train schedules, the Finance Minister suggested. Buses travel all the time, which gives them "a direct and unfair advantage" over trains, he argued. "In order to make it worthwhile for Bulgarian taxpayers to pour hundreds of millions of leva into railway transport every year, trains should be full," he said. He noted that large investments are being made in railway infrastructure in Southern Bulgaria and train speeds can be raised.

Asked by a journalist when Bulgaria will conduct substantive talks with Russia on energy projects, Goranov said such talks are conducted on a regular basis and Wednesday's meeting between Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Russian President Vladimir Putin was neither the beginning nor the end of these talks.

Asked whether the owners of the two US-controlled thermal power plants in Bulgaria have recouped their investments, the Finance Minister replied that it is too early to say. For one of the plants there are reasons to believe that the owner has reaped a full return on the investment, while in the case of the other plant there is still some money left to earn. Goranov noted that the government should not pay compensation for terminating the contracts with these power plants.

He also commented on Bulgaria's ambition to enter the so-called waiting room for the Eurozone. He sees no reason for the country to change its strategy. "Bulgaria is in the middle of intensive negotiations with the European Central Bank, the Eurozone members and the European Commission. A roadmap is being prepared. By the middle of this year we should have submitted our application to enter the waiting room," the Finance Minister said.