Transport and Communications Minister Petar Moutafchiev conducted four major battles in 2006 and scored only one success.

Moutafchiev was the main player in the transport game for one reason. Transport is among the sectors in Bulgaria’s economy where the state still has a strong presence. Answering to the many calls coming from the private sector and European Union for liberalisation of the transport sector, Moutafchiev launched several initiatives. For better or for worse, Moutafchiev had to fight battles inherited by the previous government of the National Movement Simeon II (NMSII), the party now a partner in the ruling coalition with the Bulgarian Socialist Party, of which Moutafchiev is a member.

With flag carrier Bulgaria Air, Moutafchiev had a very straight task. He had to sell it. He even had a set deadline.

“The Government will try to complete the privatisation of the company by the end of June so that Bulgaria Air will be competitive when Bulgaria joins the EU next year,” Moutafchiev said in early April.

April was a good month for him because it was the month when the MPs finally approved the privatisation strategy for Bulgaria Air. It provided for the sale of 99.99 per cent of the carrier with the state keeping a golden share in it. Potential buyers were to be Bulgarian-registered companies, at least 51 per cent owned by companies or individuals from Bulgaria, the EU or the European Economic Area, the strategy said. The strategic investors would be required to have had at least 150 million euro in revenue from air services in each of the past two years and to have carried at least 750 000 passengers a year over the same period. MPs’ approval did not come easily. In March, Moutafchiev tried for the first time to get Parliament’s approval of the strategy. Strangely enough, he met opposition from the NMSII. The chairperson of the parliamentary transport committee, NMSII MP Yordan Mirchev opposed Moutafchiev, disagreeing with how decisions would be taken by Bulgaria Air’s management board. Attempts at agreement failed, and MPs rejected Moutafchiev’s strategy. However, the following month, the NMSII were in a more favourable mood and the strategy was approved. It all went to plan. On June 7, the Privatisation Agency called a tender for the carrier’s sale and a deadline for submitting offers was announced: October 5. However, summer 2006 ended quickly, and the reports showed that Bulgaria Air had not done well.  The summer season failed to fulfil expectations of high revenue and the total loss for 2006 neared 11 million leva. This was probably the main reason why, of the previously announced seven companies interested in buying the airline, only three remained.  On October 30, Balkan Hemus Group (BHG) was selected as the buyer.  Three weeks later, a draft contract was signed. According to the contract, the price of the national carrier was set at nearly 6.5 million euro. BHG also were required to invest more than 82 million euro over a five-year period, of which 65.08 million euro would have to be invested in the first two years after the purchase. Moutafchiev secured the state the golden share. A little bit behind the initial schedule, but for Moutafchiev, Bulgaria Air’s case might be considered closed for now.

Progress on the new terminal of Sofia Airport was not good in 2006. The problem was and still is in the shape of Austria’s Strabag company which was contracted to construct the airport’s new modern passenger terminal. This may not be the biggest infrastructure project in the country but it is of great importance. The present terminal cannot accommodate large number of passengers, which leads to substantial financial losses. The opening of the terminal was postponed twice, and reconstruction expenses exceeded the budget by millions of euro. At the end of 2005, the deadline was set as August 12 2006. However, in February Strabag demanded an additional 15 million euro and an extension of the deadline. It was not just that. Two accidents happened. The terminal ceiling collapsed and cracks appeared along the new landing strip. After an inspection by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which funded the project, Strabag committed to concluding the project as soon as possible. Strabag agreed to cover all expenses connected with dealing with the defects. On December 27 Strabag and the Government finally had something to offer to the public. The new terminal of Sofia Airport was officially inaugurated a year and a half behind schedule.

Air transport was not Moutafchiev's favourite subject in 2006.

In October, it turned out that  30 per cent of the aircraft in Bulgaria’s fleet would likely be restricted from operating in European Union airspace after March 28 2007. The reason was that 30 per cent of Bulgarian air companies’ aircraft, mostly cargo and agricultural planes, did not have EU-standard certificates. On December 20 the European Commission invoked a safeguard clause against Bulgaria on aviation safety. The ban excluded Bulgarian carriers air from the benefit of being considered a  community carrier. This mean that Bulgarian carriers will continue to operate as third country operators to and from EU member states. 

Trakia Highway was the other ongoing saga in Bulgaria’s transport sector in 2006. Trakia Highway was given on concession by the previous government, led by the NMSII, to a Portuguese consortium. The deal was highly criticised for its lack of transparency. The deal faced a series of court challenges throughout 2006. Having inherited the deal from the NMSII government, Moutafchiev tried several times to re-negotiate different aspects of the agreement. Problems emerged after the Portuguese consortium said that it wanted more money. An additional demand was for Bulgaria to guarantee the highway traffic. Such a guarantee would mean that Bulgaria would have to provide compensation if traffic was insufficient. As the end of the year approached, negotiations were continuing. This meant only one thing. The construction of Trakia Highway was far from nearing its end.

The state monopoly Bulgarian Railway Company (BDZ) continued to be on the agenda for Moutafchiev in 2006. Here his efforts were aimed at pouring money into the company instead of preparing the railways for privatisation. In August, Moutafchiev asked for 120 million leva for modernisation projects. He also requested an increase in the funds allocated for passenger transport, to 90 million leva. In October, Moutafchiev got 16 million leva for improving the railway infrastructure. His statement was simple, that “reforms and measures introduced to Bulgaria’s railway had proved ineffective. Nearly two-thirds of the railways in the country were in bad condition”. Moutafchiev did nothing to put BDZ on the privatisation track and the company will continue to be state owned in 2007. Only the funds allocated for it will change, meaning bigger figures. The figures that BDZ reported for 2006 showed the company's potential.

In 2006, BDZ carried 34 650 000 passengers, or 2.7 per cent more than in 2005. BDZ also transported 21 250 000 tonnes of freight,  or 4.7 per cent more than in 2005. As a result, revenues increased by about five million leva.

In separate developments, Bulgaria saw some positive action on liberalisation of the transport market in general. The two coastal airports in Varna and Bourgas were given on concession to Germany’s Fraport. This helped to add to the ever-growing number of low cost carriers flying to and from Bulgaria and the numerous new lines opened to the country during the summer tourist season.