The construction of the second bridge between Bulgaria and Rumania over the Danube River at Vidin-Kalafat is expected to begin this summer. The project will cost about EUR 226 million, including EUR 60 million financing by the Bulgarian Government. The rest of the funding is to be provided through loans from the European Investment Bank, the French Agency for Development and the German Institution for Reconstruction and Development. The bridge will be a four-lane highway with a railroad.

The project for building this second bridge over the Danube, between Bulgaria and Romania at Vidin-Calafat, is a key priority of the Bulgarian Government. It is of great socio-economic significance for the region and will provide the missing link along the route of the European Corridor IV.

However, the construction of the bridge is already running late. Contractors were expected to be invited by the end of 2003 and building was supposed to begin early in 2004. This was the initial plan of the international consultant, a British-Spanish consortium between Scott Wilson Holdings (UK), Iberinsa (Spain) and Flint & Neill Partnership (UK).

The construction is once again under question and this is due to the fact that the European Commission (EC) does not agree with the project's financing by the German export bank KfW. Well-informed sources say that the financing procedure does not comply with the EU's requirements. EC provides resources for the prospecting works on the project under the supervision of the Stability Pact. It is expected that the EC Delegation to Bulgaria will return the tender dossier with their remarks. A revision of the documents and a new application for the approval of the new project will hold up the start of the construction works for at least a year.

The bridge should be open in 2007.