New Bridge Boosts Bulgaria-Romania Trade

Romania has become Bulgaria's third largest trading partner after Germany and Italy, partly as a result of the New Europe Bridge, which opened last year, officials say.

Bilateral trade between the two countries now exceeds 3 billion euro in value a year. Meanwhile, about 9,000 cars, buses and trucks cross the bridge each week, the bridge's management company reports. Since it opened on June 14, 2013, more than 300,000 vehicles have made use if it.

The 1.7-kilometre-long bridge linking Vidin in Bulgaria and Calafat in Romania has two traffic lanes in each direction, a railway line, two pedestrian pavements and a bicycle path.

Most of the money for the bridge’s construction came from EU funds.The new bridge, the only one along more than 300km of the Danube, was set to be completed by October 2010. But the opening was delayed several times owing to technical difficulties.

Before it was finished, Bulgaria and Romania only had a single bridge along their 500-kilometre river border, between Giurgiu and Ruse.