site.btaBorissov Attends Opening of Last Stretch of Serbia Motorway to Bulgarian Border

ESD 16:23:31 09-11-2019
ZH1621ES.105
105 ECONOMY - MOTORWAY - OPENING

Bulgarian PM Attends Opening of Last
Stretch of Serbia Motorway to
Bulgarian Border, Likens It to Fall of Berlin Wall


Nis/Sofia, November 9 (BTA) - Prime Minister Boyko Borissov Saturday attended the official opening of the last stretch of the Serbian motorway to the Bulgarian border, which is part of Pan-European Corridor 10. "We can say, as the Germans, that the Berlin Wall between Bulgaria and former Yugoslavia falls today. As of today, Serbia has a port in the [Bulgarian seaside] cities of Varna and Bourgas, and there is not a single traffic light to the centre of Istanbul," said Borissov quoted by the government information service.

The eastern branch of Corridor 10 between Nis and Dimitrovgrad is 86.9 km long. The construction of the road started back in 2011. The stretch that was put into operation is 22.5 km long and includes the 700 m long Bancarevo tunnel. This completes the construction of Corridor 10 through Serbia.

The eastern branch of Corridor 10 includes 87 bridges and five tunnels and costs 476 million euro, provided by the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the World Bank. Besides linking Serbia and Bulgaria, the motorway is also an important transit corridor linking Central Europe and Turkey with the Middle East.

Borissov was invited at the opening by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, and was accompanied by Transport Minister Rossen Zhelyazkov.

"Today we are linking Asia and Europe via Bulgaria and Serbia," Borissov said. Offering congratulations for the completed motorway, Borissov noted that the entire Bulgarian industry will be able to use the road to Western Europe.

Addressing Borissov, Vucic said that Bulgaria now is closer than ever.

The Serbian President also said that Serbia will be connected with "fraternal Bulgaria" also by the Balkan Stream gas pipeline.

Before the ceremony Borissov and Vucic discussed the progress on key regional infrastructure projects. LN/ZH//