site.btaTransport Minister Putting Together Team of International Advisers

Transport and Communications Minister Nikolai Sabev has asked German experts to draw up a logistical plan for the development of multimodal transport in Bulgaria and for making the national transport system more efficient. The request was put forward at a meeting in Sofia with Thomas Schlipkoether, who sits on the Executive Board of Duisburger Hafen AG in Duisburg, the largest inland port in the world. The meeting was also attended by Sabev deputy Vladimir Varbanov, the Transport and Communications Ministry reported on Thursday.

Late last week, the French Development Agency promised to send a railway transport expert to Bulgaria after a recruitment competition. In this way, the Transport and Communications Ministry is putting together a team of European advisers in two important subsectors: river shipping and railway transport.

Sabev said: "A favourable geographical location is not enough for an effective transport network. It is necessary to build connectivity by developing multimodal transport, including road and railway infrastructure, inland waterways and combinations between them." He believes that Bulgaria's economic growth depends on the provision of good transport logistics and utmost efficiency of the international corridors traversing the country.

Sabev and Schlipkoether discussed opportunities to develop the route Istanbul-Burgas/Varna-Russe as part of the Rhine-Danube Corridor. They expressed their shared conviction that, to ensure the transport connectivity between Europe and Asia, it is necessary to have steady and reliable management of the supply chains.