Minister of Transport Georgi Peev described Iliyan Filipov, who was killed yesterday, as a “serious figure in the transport industry with one of the largest transport companies in land and rail transport”.
“He was an active participant in the dialogue with the government and in particular with the Ministry of Transport. A competent person who defended the interests of the sector. Of course, he also has other businesses that are outside the transport sector. I have known him for four months - since the time we took office. He has always been correct, extremely dialogical and fought for the industry”, he said in an interview for the program “Face to Face” on bTV.
When asked whether the tragic incident would affect the transport business in Bulgaria, Peev answered as follows: “Given the scale of the activity, there are corresponding risks. When a person who is an authority and has weight in this industry has left us, there could be consequences. But we will do everything possible to ensure that this effect is not negative”, the minister guaranteed.
And he added: “We will hold the relevant talks and I hope that the company will continue its upward development”.
The Minister of Transport also provided more detailed information about the action plan for joint transport projects with Greece and Romania announced on September 29th. We are talking about 53 cross-border transport projects worth a total of about 23 billion euros.
“In this so-called “action plan” "specific projects between the three countries are described. Among the most important of them are bridges on the Danube, highways, railway connections," Peev notes, refraining from making loud statements regarding the number of bridges on the river.
On another topic - Bulgarian Railways, Peev guarantees that if necessary, they will sleep in Brussels with Deputy Prime Minister Petkanov, but there will be funding for the permanent renewal of the rolling stock in BDZ.
"The new trains that are coming are of high quality. The problem is that we need to have a program to modernize the entire rolling stock. We need to make sure that we develop a program and that we do not have a break in the renewal of this stock. By the end of April, we will have 60 units of new rolling stock, but we need about 290. That is, we need to make sure that we develop a program and that we do not have a break in the renewal of this stock. That is why we are working very seriously with our colleagues to find and develop the program for what kind of rolling stock we need. We do not have enough sleeping cars, and people want to have quality sleeping cars in the summer. Our colleagues from BDZ have a task by the end of the year to develop this program. Our colleagues from BDZ have a clear task by the end of the year to develop this program and initiate European funding with Deputy Prime Minister Pekanov. Every time I go for an interview, I hope that he is looking at me, because he promised that we will sleep together in Brussels, but we will find funding for the permanent renewal of the rolling stock at BDZ," said the minister.