NATO will station a centre for the command and management of ships near the Bulgarian seaside city of Varna.

This becomes clear from an announcement made by the Defence Ministry of a public procurement procedure for the development of Broadcast and Ship-Shore systems (BRASS) in the southern region-Bulgaria.

The command centre will be constructed with funds allocated under the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP).

The construction of the command centre will take place in two stages, starting with the renovation of already existing buildings and the construction of new ones in case these are necessary.

The second stage includes the placement of antennas and systems for the management of naval vessels, daily Dnevnik reports.

This is the second more significant project that NATO plans to complete in Bulgaria, as earlier in February it was announced that the Alliance is to station a command centre in Sofia.

At the meeting of NATO's defence ministers on February 5, the immediate establishment of command and control centres in six countries on the eastern flank, including Bulgaria, was approved.

These centres will deal with the planning and coordination of joint trainings and exercises, some of which will be held on Bulgarian territory.

This in line with the commitments agreed under the Readiness Action Plan, which was adopted at the NATO Wales Summit in September 2014.