Bulgaria and the US announced today plans for the modernisation of the three military facilities to be used for joint training, Agence France-Presse reported.

Bulgarian Defence Minister Vesselin Bliznakov said that the military and defence co-operation agreement signed with the US in April would very soon be put into effect.

Modernisation worth millions of dollars was planned, US ambassador to Bulgaria John Beyrle said. Bulgaria was expected to benefit from better infrastructure and increased number of work places, Beyrle said.

On Wednesday a US delegation would visit Bezmer aviation base to assess its modernisation needs, AFP reported. The other two bases US soldiers would use include the Graf Ignatievo airport and the Novo Selo training ground.

US investment in Bulgaria was expected to increase, Beyrle said. The investor interest resulted from developments in several major Bulgarian projects, said he.

Recently US company AES began the construction of a 1.4 billion dollar thermal power plant. IT company Hewlett Packard also opened a regional service centre, providing employment for more than 1000 people, AFP reported.