Transport Ministry signed three infrastructural contracts together worth more than 200 million euro, which will help the development of the state railways.

The first contract was for the reconstruction and electrification of the railway connecting Plovdiv and Svilengrad. The Italian company Astaldi would execute the project worth nearly 163 million euro, a Transport Ministry press release said. The reconstruction has to be ready in 39 months.

The second project was for signalisation and telecommunications for the whole Plovdiv-Svilengrad railway track and was assigned to the Austrian Thales Rail Signalling and Alkatel-Lucent. The project was worth 35.56 million euro and would have to be completed by March 31 2008.

A consortium with Spanish Iberinsa as leading partner would take up the technical support for the modernisation of the Vidin-Sofia rail way. This project was worth 3.35 million euro and would have to be finished in 24 months.

According to Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev, the three projects will help Bulgaria’s railways integrate into the European railway system and will make local railways more competitive and safe.