Bulgaria may lose billions if the export to Asia is carried out through alternative routes

Assoc. Prof. Simeon Ananiev is a teacher at the Todor Kableshkov University of Transport and co-chairman of the cluster Green Cargo Transport.

According to Ananiev the adjacent infrastructure of Danube Bridge-2 must be constructed as soon as possible and the facility must become fully operational. Also, the highways to Turkey should be opened in the near future. All repair works on the railway network connecting Bulgaria and Turkey should be completed by the middle of October, at the latest.

«Bulgaria risks losing billions of euro, unless all transport infrastructure connecting Sofia and Ankara is brought into perfect condition very soon. The trade between Europe and Asia may find alternative routes, if the Bulgarian politicians fail to resolve the issues that I highlighted above», professor said.

«The freight service of the Bulgarian Railway Company BDZ must not be privatized, but rather declared insolvent. Bulgaria will lose one billion levs if the freight business of BDZ is sold away right now. Third, an analysis of all international contracts in the transport sector must be prepared with the participation of the branch organizations. We all know about the recent problems with Turkey, and we also have problems with Greece, including their railway companies. These contracts must be updated, or else the blockades of border checkpoint will become all too frequent», added Ananiev.

Adapted from Standart