The overall size of key infrastructure projects to be implemented in Bulgaria by 2015 is more than 4.7 billion euro, Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev said on October 15, as quoted by Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

The country had prepared a strategy for developing its transport infrastructure by 2015, with calculated values, deadlines and funding opportunities, Moutafchiev said during a joint meeting of the transport ministers of the Central European Initiative and of the South East European Cooperation Process in Varna. The meeting is held under the title “Modernising and optimising the transport infrastructure along the main axes of the Trans-European Transport Network”.

The total value of the planned public investment by 2015 was 4.712 billion euro, Moutafchiev said. Of them, 1.809 billion euro would be spent on the railway infrastructure, and 1.725 billion euro on developing the country’s system of roads. Further funding was expected to come from European Union’s accession and cohesion funds, BNR said.

There were important infrastructure projects under implementation already, like the new combined railway-road Danube Bridge II that would link Vidin in Bulgaria with Calafat in Romania, Sofia Airport’s new passenger terminal and others. Among the priority investment projects are also the highways: Trakia, Maritsa, Hemous, Cherno More and Strouma, Moutafchiev said.