site.btaCaretaker Transport Minister Ismailov Pushes North–South Transport Projects in Talks With Romanian Ambassador

Bulgaria will press ahead with priority international North-South transport projects, caretaker Minister of Transport and Communications Korman Ismailov said on Monday after talks with Romania’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Brandusa Ioana Predescu.

The two discussed progress on key infrastructure initiatives, ways to boost regional connectivity, and problems faced by Romanian hauliers and transport companies in Bulgaria.

"My ambition is for the Ministry of Transport and Communications to build on what has been achieved and speed up delivery of the key projects that matter directly to business, citizens and the economic development of our region," Ismailov said.

The talks focused on ferry links, accelerating the Black Sea Motorway project, progress on the second bridge over the Danube at Ruse, and the implementation of the memorandum on trilateral cooperation between Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece on the Black Sea-Aegean Sea Corridor. Ismailov said these areas were essential to developing a modern, reliable transport network.

Predescu, for her part, said transport connectivity remained a leading priority for Romania as well. She added there was no change in Romania’s commitment to the joint projects, and that good bilateral cooperation at expert and technical level was the basis for delivering them successfully.

"Bulgaria and Romania must and will go hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder together on the path of their Euro-Atlantic development, because only in this way will we build on stability, integration and prosperity in our part of the EU," Ismailov said.

Bulgaria, Greece and Romania have set up the Black Sea-Aegean Sea Corridor Platform to coordinate and speed up priority North-South road, rail and inland-waterway links between the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea and the Danube, with the European Commission involved in the framework agreed in Brussels on December 3, 2025.

The project pipeline includes the Black Sea Motorway, envisaged as a missing high-speed link along Bulgaria’s coast from Malko Tarnovo via Burgas and Varna to Durankulak on the Romanian border, and a second combined road-and-rail Danube bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu to ease pressure on the existing crossing and improve cross-border connectivity.

Preparatory work on the Ruse-Giurgiu bridge has focused on feasibility and funding, including EU-backed procedures and expressions of interest from international lenders.