site.btaMinister Gvozdeykov: Strategic Infrastructure Projects Need to Be Fast-tracked

We need to provide a "fast track" and change the slow administrative procedures that stop almost all major infrastructure projects in transport, caretaker Transport and Communications Minister Georgi Gvozdeykov said at the Connectivity Forum 2024, quoted by the press centre of his ministry. The forum is taking place on Friday in Burgas.

In his words, Bulgaria is not further behind than other European countries in terms of construction, but there are cases in which due to the completion of documents and permits, a delay of several years occurs, which is unacceptable, Gvozdeykov explained.

The second Danube bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu will be included in the main European transport network and the new priority corridor "Baltic Sea - Black Sea - Aegean Sea", with an extension to Ukraine and Moldova, Georgi Gvozdeykov said. The corridor will provide a link between the three seas and develop combined freight and passenger transport flows. "In the context of the changed geopolitical situation, it is necessary to work actively together with Romania and Greece to improve the road and rail connectivity in the North-South direction, which will enable the fast and safe passage of the expected high volume of traffic. Our aim is also to connect the Greek ports on the Aegean Sea with the Bulgarian Black Sea ports by rail. This will provide an alternative to the Bosphorus route," the Minister added.

With the help of EU funding, the priority is the completion of the modernization of the Sofia-Plovdiv-Burgas railway line and the progress of the railway link between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, the transport minister said.

The forum is organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Bulgaria. The event was attended by Irene Maria Plank, Ambassador of Germany to Bulgaria, Mariya Gabriel, former European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Rosen Plevneliev, President of Bulgaria (2012-2017), Dimitar Nikolov, Mayor of Burgas Municipality, and others.