Parts of 5 Bulgarian railroad stations will be offered for concession, Transport Minister, Alexander Tsvetkov, reported Wednesday during the cabinet's meeting.

Private management will be sought for the waiting areas, commercial buildings and facilities, and equipment of the railroad stations in Sofia (the Central Station and the “Poduene” one), Plovdiv, Varna, and Burgas.

With the move the cabinet hopes private companies with greater financing will be able to reconstruct and manage the railroad stations better than the Sate. The concessionaires will have to modernize the facilities, increase the quality of service and provide new job openings.

The Transport Ministry expects to increase the budget revenue by over BGN 1 B.

The institution's strategy also plans concessions for the Black Sea ports in Varna and Burgas and the Danube ones in Vidin, Ruse and Lom and for the airports in Plovdiv, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Stara Zagora and Ruse. A cargo terminal at the Sofia Airport is also going to be build by a concessionaire.

A report of the Transport Ministry, published on March 25, shows the Bulgarian State received nearly BGN 17 M in concession fees and taxes from private port and airport operators in 2008.

The Ports of Varna, Balchik, Silistra, Svishtov, Oryahovo and Lom, and the airports of Varna and Burgas have all been given to concessionaires, which, according to the report, adhere to their contracts with the State, including social program commitments and job openings.

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