Bulgaria Starts the Construction of Danube Bridge II

article by Kamelia Krumova, pictures by George Georgiev

“13 May 2007 is a day with no way back…” Sergey Stanishev Prime minister of the Republic of Bulgaria

The groundbreaking ceremony of the construction of a second bridge over the Danube River between Bulgaria and Romania took place on Sunday, 13 May 2007 at the km 796 of the river in Vidin. The Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Bulgaria in cooperation with the executor of the project – the Spanish company “FCC” („Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas") organized the event.

The ceremony was blessed by the bishop of Vidin and Romanian clerics.
The minister of transport of the republic of Bulgaria Mr. Petar Mutafchiev welcomed all guests and citizents of Vidin with the start of the biggest infrastructure project in northwestern Bulgaria. He stressed on the important role of the Danube Bridge II for the future economy and spiritual connection between the European countries from the Balkan Peninsula and the countries from central and Western Europe, through the Pan – European corridor #4.

Mr. Erhard Bussek, coordinator of the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe; Mr. Michael Humfris, leader of the delegation of the European Commission; Mr. Julio Senador, director of institution relations in FCC, the company which will construct the bridge; the ambassador of Federal Republic of Germany in Bulgaria Mr. Michael Geier were among the guests of the ceremony.
They all expressed their support for the majour project and stressed on the important role of the bridge over the Danube River at Vidin – Calafat for the economy and social relationship of the countries in Europe.

The symbolic first sod for the construction of the Danube Bridge II at Vidin-Kalafat was made by Sergey Stanishev – the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria. He assured all guests of the event, that the real construction works will soon start and the project will be completed within the determined terms.

The Spanish company FCC won the bid as the designer and contractor of part of the main bridge. The bridge is scheduled to be constructed within 38 months. The total cost of the equipment is 99 955 948 Euro.
The new bridge will be located at the 796th km of the Danube river, linking Bulgaria's Vidin and Romania's Calafat. The total length of the bridge is 1,971 meters. It will have four road lines and a railway track.

The whole project also includes the construction of road and railway infrastructure to support the bridge on the Bulgarian bank of the river. It includes the construction of a new cargo railway station and 7 km brand new railway line, together with 4 road lines on two levels. The contracts for the construction and surveillance of the supportive infrastructure are expected to be signed until the end of the year.
The total project is estimated to cost 236 million Euro. The project is supported by the PHARE and ISPA programs of the European Union, the European Investment Bank, KfW, AFD and the National Budget of Republic of Bulgaria.