Romania and Bulgaria plan five new Danube bridges to connect their countries

Sursa: navy.ro
Romania and Bulgaria have begun feasibility studies along the River Danube with the aim of building five new bridges to link the neighbors.

Romania’s Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu met his Bulgarian counterpart, Nikolai Sabev in Bucharest on Monday for talks.

There are currently only two bridges across the 470 kilometer-long Danube border: the  Giurgiu-Ruse bridge and another at Calafat-Vidin.

The feasibility studies for the five new bridges are viewed as a milestone after talks dragged on for years. Once built, they will spur investment and tourism in the poorest areas of the Balkan neighbors.

Under the new agreement, Bulgaria has undertaken to dredge the Danube at a cost of nearly 8 million euros– a condition imposed by Romania.

Mr Grindeanu has promised to cooperate with local authorities to speed up renovation work in Giurgiu, an essential southern border crossing point with Bulgaria, G4 reported.

Bulgaria plans to start renovation work on its side at the Danube Bridge I in July, which Romania believes could create problems for tourists and goods transport.

However, Mr Sabev said that he talked to Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov to find a solution that will not negatively impact traffic or the Giurgiu-Ruse bridge, one of the main border crossings.

Romania and Bulgaria have been combining their efforts to develop tourism and business between Bucharest-Giurgiu-Ruse and Veliko Tarnovo in order to attract more EU funding.

Bulgarian prime minister visits Romania to sign agreement for new Danube border crossing

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