Prime-Minister Emil Boc and his Bulgarian counterpart Boyko Borisov on Friday opened the Turnu Magurele-Nicopole ferry-boat service connecting Romania to Bulgaria.
Romanian and Bulgarian authorities will continue to work on the construction of the Calafat-Vidin bridge and plan to open at least two new bridges – one from Calarasi to Silistra and one from Bechet to Oreahovo, after identifying necessary financing sources.
The two premiers also said they would be looking at ways to abrogate Giurgiu-Ruse bridge tolls at the beginning of the holiday season, at least for passenger vehicles. “We wish to reduce and even remove completely those transit tolls,” the Bulgarian PM said. In February, the two PMs announced that their governments were contemplating the possibility of giving up the Giurgiu-Ruse bridge toll, a measure that was going to be implemented in several stages, starting from a cut in the amount and going as far as abrogating the charge completely.
The Romanian ferry line opened by the two PMs can transport up to six lorries and will cover the 800 m distance from Turnu Magurele to Nicopole two to four times a day within 8-10 minutes. The charge to cross the Danube on the ferry is EUR 2/ person – one trip, EUR 12/passenger vehicle and EUR 90-100 / lorry.
The Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism said in a release the new ferry service is a joint ‘mirror’ project developed with EU funds. The cost of the project on the Romanian side was EUR 4.5 M of which EUR 3.3 M Phare funds and EUR 1.2 M beneficiary co-financing. The main works covered were the construction of the platform and the auto ramp, hydro-technical developments and the construction of necessary buildings. The ‘EUROPA’ ferryboat crossing the Danube can transport up to 260 passengers, 34 motor-vehicles and a maximum of nine lorries, according to the release.
