Bulgarian Ports
Infrastructure Company

On 29 May 2024, live from the "Burgus" Catamaran, the Bulgarian Port Infrastructure Company (BPI Co.) presented the operations on the deepening of the water area of the Port of Burgas. The Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Natova, representatives of the European Commission and the Managing Authority of the Transport Connectivity Program 2021-2027, the Mayor of Burgas Dimitar Nikolov, stakeholders, experts from the maritime industry and others had the opportunity to observe the dredging activities in the area of the maneuvering basin near the Burgas East Terminal 2/2A and the Burgas West Port Terminal, carried out with specialized equipment. Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Anna Natova congratulated BPI Co. for the successful and timely implementation of yet another large-scale project at the Port of Burgas and the first one under the new Transport Connectivity Program (TCP) 2021 - 2027. She announced that the project activities will be completed next week and stressed that as a result of the deepening, the Port of Burgas will open its doors to large ships, making it extremely attractive and competitive. BPI Co. also received congratulations for a job well done in the implementation of the project from the representative of the European Commission, Boryana Zheleva, who stressed that when the Bulgarian institutions and the EC join forces, this produces excellent results. Martin Georgiev, the Head of the Managing Authority of the TC Program, also congratulated BPI Co. for the long-term and consistent policy of the company towards the development of water transport through the implementation of EU-funded projects. He emphasized that BPI Co. is one of the best examples in Bulgaria of how small projects lead to big results. With the implementation of the dredging project at the port of Burgas, the Bulgarian Port Infrastructure Company will provide greater design depths in the water area of the Burgas-West terminal and thus will be able to handle larger vessels, in particular container ships, with a length of up to 260 m, a width of up to 32 m and a draft of up to 14.5 m. This became clear from the words of the Director General of BPI Co. Ivaylo Ivanov, who officially opened the event and presented the achieved results of the project implementation, highlighting the contribution to increasing the competitiveness of Bulgarian ports. Ivaylo Ivanov explained that it is important for the company to invest in regular dredging activities in the maritime water area of the Republic of Bulgaria, as this leads to greater functionality and sustainability of maritime transport. During the event, the representative of the contractor CONSORTIUM COSMOS VAN OORD DZPD Gerard Alkema presented the dredging equipment and the dredging process. The project "Capital Dredging - Basin between Burgas West Terminal and Burgas East Terminal 2/2A/" is the deepening of the water area in the port to reach new design depths. The implementation of the capital dredging project will lead to a comprehensive and long-term solution regarding the approach and maneuvering of ships and the future needs for new maneuvering areas in accordance with the investment projects of the port operators of the terminals located in the water area of the Port of Burgas. Its implementation is related to the construction of the new quay wall for berth 28 of the port terminal Burgas-West. Project No BG16FFPR001-3.001-0005 "Capital Dredging - Basin between Burgas West Terminal and Burgas East Terminal 2/2A/" is financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund through the Transport Connectivity Program 2021-2027, with national co-financing and the beneficiary Bulgarian Port Infrastructure Company's own funds.