Sat, Feb 11 2012

Minister: Danube Bridge rehabilitation, Schengen accession must go hand in hand

Wed, Dec 09 2009 13:48 CET

byNick Iliev

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Minister: Danube Bridge rehabilitation, Schengen accession must go hand in hand

 
Photo: Мария Съботинова

Serious investment was needed for the overhaul and modernisation of the Danube Bridge, which links the town of Rousse in Bulgaria to Giurgiu in Romania, according to Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister Rossen Plevneliev.

Bulgaria has secured 130 million euro for the modernisation of border crossing points. Danube Bridge, which has seen active service for the past 55 years, is poised for a thorough rehabilitation that must begin within the next five years, Plevneliev was quoted as saying by Stroitelstvo Gradut weekly .

The reconstruction and upgrading of the entire bridge and all auxiliary infrastructure would take three to four years and could be financed using European Union structural funds allocated for the 2013/20 budget period.

Bulgaria is poised to enter the Schengen area in 2011, at which point the importance of Danube Bridge as the main northern gateway to the country will increase once the border checkpoint is scrapped.

The area must be ready to operate under the requirements of the Schengen Agreement by January 2011 and, according to Plevneliev, all works in that direction must be done as a package and not piecemeal.

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