BULGARIAN State Railway is to call tenders shortly for upgrading of its 156 km main line serving the southeast of the country, at an estimated cost of US$340m. Modernisation of the Plovdiv - Svilengrad route is due to start early next year for completion by June 2005. The line forms part of the trans-European corridor leading to Istanbul. Svilengrad lies close to the Turkish border, and is the junction for a connecting line into eastern Greece.
Director General Vladimir Dunchev expects to cut BKD’s loss this year to 60m levs compared to 96m in 1999, despite a cut in government subsidy from 60m levs in 1999 to 40m this year.
Some non-core operations have been spun off, and staff numbers have been cut from 53000 in 1998 to 38000 today. Loans totalling US$170m have been received from the World Bank, EBRD and the EU Phare programme to fund rolling stock refurbishment and installation of modern information systems.
The law paving the way for restructuring of BKD into separate infrastructure and operating businesses, approved last October (RG 12.99 p754), is now expected to come into force on January 1 2002, rather than 2001 as planned.
- Bulgaria’s Minister for Regional Development & Public Works Evgeni Chachev is negotiating with South Korea for funding to double-track the electrified Karnobat - Sindel line linking BKD’s routes to the Black Sea ports of Burgas and Varna.
