EC gives green light for financing a feasibility study for third Danube bridge at Rousse - Giurgiu

The European Commission has given the green light for financing a feasibility study for a new bridge over the Danube at Rousse-Giurgiu in the amount of 6.9 million euros, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said on January 25.

The total budget for the project is €13.7 million. The rest of the funds will be provided from the budgets of the two countries.

Bulgaria and Romania are due to sign an agreement with the European Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and the Environment by mid-year at the latest to provide the funding. The technical, financial, legal and environmental parameters of the project for a new facility should be clarified by 2026.

The bridge is planned to be a combined road and rail bridge, about 2 km long. The project also envisages the construction of the connecting infrastructure over a 15 km stretch on each side's territory. The bridge will also have a direct connection with the Rousse - Veliko Tarnovo motorway currently under construction.

In September 2023, Bulgaria and Romania submitted the joint proposal for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility. Based on the results of the feasibility study, a decision will be taken on the location and financing of the infrastructure facility.

The first bridge over the Danube between Bulgaria and Romania was built 70 years ago (1954) and the second one in 2013.

Since then, traffic between the two countries has increased tenfold. In view of the future reconstruction of Ukraine, the flow of freight on the north-south route is expected to increase even further, making the project strategically important for the entire region, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said.