BULGARIA: Plans for a major restructuring of the national railway’s freight business BDZ Tovarnni Prevosi, including a reduction in its costs and a review of all freight tariffs, has been announced by Minister of Transport & Communications Grozdan Karadjov.
‘Nearly half of the freight transported by rail in Bulgaria is handled by BDZ-TP, with the remainder managed by private carriers operating in the market’, he said in April. ‘Nevertheless, last year’s figures show a turnover of 140m leva for the company, alongside overdue liabilities amounting to 33m leva.’
Karadjov said a private entity with such financial results would be considered insolvent. External expenditure has been restricted to prevent the accumulation of further debt, and ’options are being explored to sell off non-operational assets’, he said. BDZ-TP pays up to 250 000 leva per month just to park rolling stock on tracks owned by National Railway Infrastructure Co.
BDZ-TP owns 4 500 wagons, although only 2 000 are needed for its operations. Other assets include buildings and land that are no longer used for their intended purposes.
- A concept for the future award of a passenger train operating contract has been submitted to the European Commission by the ministry, along with some questions about the process. ‘Once all the details are clarified and before the tender is announced, we will hold extensive consultations’, Karadjov said.
