Bulgaria's Transport and Communications Ministry is to pave the way for the construction of a new EUR90 million (US$131 million) container terminal at the Black Sea Port of Varna, as part of a national EUR214 million intermodal scheme, reports Shipping Gazette citing the Sofia Echo.
Varna city council chairman Borislav Goutsanov said that the new terminal will be managed by a joint venture between Varna and the Bulgarian government.
Private companies will also be allowed to participate in the project provided the sum of their total share in the new terminal does not exceed 30 per cent, said Bulgaria's Investor.bg, a financial news service, quoted by the Echo.
Japanese banking interests will reportedly finance the construction of the Varna terminal in addition to a new container terminal at Bulgaria's other major Black Sea port of Burgas.
A decision by the Japanese on funding is due by April, said Investor.bg, and if all goes well, construction should start before the end of the year.
The Port of Varna is the largest seaport in Bulgaria. Burgas is the second-largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea at the westernmost point in Burgas Bay.