Concession to Push Bulgarian-Romanian Danube Bridge II Project

The Spanish FCC company, building contractor of Danube Bridge II between the Bulgarian port Vidin and the Romanian Calafat, has received a concession to extract construction materials.

The information was reported by the company's press center, cited by the Bulgarian daily "Standart."

The decision has been made during the last cabinet meeting.

The concession has a 5-year term and allows the extraction of 432 000 tons.

FCC have been asking for permission to extract materials from terrains near the bridge, owned by them, in the last three years. The materials are needed for embankments and infrastructure.

The contractor has explained the one-year delay in the bridge's construction precisely by the lack of concession. They have been asking for it during all meetings of the joint Bulgarian-Romanian Committee for the project, and raised the issue before Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, during his visit to the site in February, 2010.

The concession includes only the field "Antimovo 2," near the village of Kutovo, in the proximity of the bridge. The area will be rehabilitated at the FCC expense.

The concession will save the company EUR 18 M from having to purchase the materials from outside suppliers.