Romanian and Bulgarian PMs, Commissioner Hahn attending
The Calafat-Vidin bridge, the second across the Danube to connect Romania and Bulgaria, was inaugurated today in the presence of Prime Minister Victor Ponta, his Bulgarian counterpart Plamen Oresharski and European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn.
The ribbon was cut by the Romanian and Bulgarian constructors who participated in building the cable-stayed bridge.
Two children wearing traditional costumes – the boy in Bulgarian folk garments, the girl – in Romanian national clothing, held the ribbon in the colors of the flags of Romania, Bulgaria and the European Union.
The only other bridge between the two countries, linking the cities of Ruse and Giurgiu, was completed in 1954. The bridge between Vidin and Calafat, built with co-financing from the EU Cohesion Fund, is part of the Pan-European transport corridor linking the German city of Dresden with Turkey’s metropolis of Istanbul.
The bridge is almost two kilometers long, has two-lanes each way, a railway track, two sidewalks and a track for cyclists. The construction costs, which until 2011 were estimated at about 225 million euros, have most likely topped 250 million euros. A Romanian-Bulgarian joint venture based in Vidin will operate the bridge and will also charge the toll for using it.
Pedestrians and cyclists as well as ambulances, police and fire rescue vehicles are subject to a toll fee exemption. The governments of Bulgaria and Romania approved on Wednesday the fees for crossing the bridge, which will vary between 6 and 37 euros, depending on the vehicle type.
The Bulgarian government tasked the Minister of Transport to carry out supplementary surveys on the traffic and taxes and propose a review within a three-month term and following consultations with the Romanian side.
The parties also agreed to open a new border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Romania along the Vidin-Calafat connection, which will handle road, rail and river freight, as well as passenger traffic.
Mixed Bulgarian – Romanian border police teams will control the passengers and goods on the Romanian territory for road traffic, and on the Bulgarian territory for rail traffic, respectively.AGERPRES
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