The outgoing government has adopted a decision to approve the conclusion of a contract between Bulgaria, Belgium and the Netherlands for the acquisition of seven minehunters, with which we are essentially launching another modernization project for rearmament. This was stated by the outgoing Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov at a briefing after the regular meeting of the outgoing cabinet.
Four of these ships will be delivered by Belgium, and three will be provided by the Netherlands.
The price of these ships is essentially political - they are provided to Bulgaria free of charge. However, the total amount for the repair and restoration of the full capabilities of the ships over the next 4 years is 42 million euros. The first ship will be sent this year, after the negotiation procedures are completed, Zapryanov said.
He added that the Navy now has three such ships, which were delivered in previous years from Belgium and the Netherlands.
According to the outgoing minister, the delivery of the ships is important in order to further develop the mine countermeasure capabilities of the armed forces, as such ships from the Soviet era are still in operation. Some of them are already at the end of their operational life. Last year, one of these ships was decommissioned and such ships are about to be decommissioned, so with this decision and these contracts we will achieve a smooth replacement of the old mine countermeasure ships with new ones, Zapryanov said.
According to him, with this decision of the outgoing government, the fifth project for the modernization of the army is starting.