Conferring here on Monday, Bulgarian Transport Minister Peter Moutafchiev and his Romanian counterpart Ludovic Orban discussed the construction of bridges over the Danube between Vidin and Calafat, Oryahovo and Bechet, and Silistra and Calarasi, as well as the forthcoming overhaul of the bridge between Rousse and Calarasi, the two told a news conference after the meeting, BTA reports.

A joint venture to manage the Vidin-Calafat facility will be incorporated by mid-2009 and the agreement on the project will be ratified by September, Moutafchiev specified. The idea is to finish the bridge in 2010.

"It is important that Bulgaria and Romania have identical positions on the construction of the Oryahovo-Bechet and Silistra-Calarasi bridges, so that the local authorities should be free to go ahead with construction of the facilities through a public-private partnership and probably through use of EU financing," Orban said. Whether railways will pass along those bridges is a matter of future studies and economic assessments.

At the meeting Moutafchiev stressed his position that the construction procedures for the Oryahovo-Bechet bridge must run parallel to work on the Silistra-Calarasi bridge.

The overhaul of the Rousse-Giurgiu bridge will cost Bulgaria some 25 million euro, and Romania must allocate the same amount. "Experts must specify the amounts and they must be budgeted," Orban said. "Such repair of the intricate metal structure at Rousse has not been undertaken so far," Moutafchiev noted.

The two ministers noted that the existing tolls for use of the Rousse-Giurgiu bridge, which are resented by the public in both cities, will be reduced but not revoked. Experts are due to come up shortly with a proposal on their reduction to a level that does not infringe on the fundamental right of EU citizens to freedom of movement. Moutafchiev explained that the Rousse-Giurgiu bridge tolls cannot be scrapped because of the need of equal treatment with the other future bridge facilities.

At their meeting, Moutafchiev and Orban also discussed regional cooperation in transport, the opportunities to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects prioritized by both countries, the preparation of a common functional airspace block, an improvement of conditions for Danube navigation, and the proposal of the French EU Presidency to amend the Eurovignette Directive, the Bulgarian Transport Minister said.