The United States issued an invitation to bid to extend the infrastructure of four joint US-Bulgarian bases in October, The invitation was issued at a conference attended by representatives of more than 90 companies worldwide.

The bids would be for supply and services for the bases in south-eastern Bulgaria, where up to 5,000 US personnel are set to be stationed. They include two airports at Graf Ignatievo and Bezmer, the military compound Novo Selo and a warehouse near Ajtos.

The contract awarding procedures for infrastructural projects at Graf Ignatievo, Bezmer, the Novo Selo training area, and the warehouse facility at Ajtos will be open for both Bulgarian and US companies. Bulgarian Companies Will Not Use Privileges in Servicing Bulgarian-US Facilities. The public procurement contracts will be awarded on market principle and, in this context, serious competition from Greek, Turkish, Romanian and German companies is expected.

In order to be eligible for participation in the biddings the companies should have a DUNS number, a codification number by the Bulgarian Defence Ministry and registration in a NATO register. The meeting of these requirements takes 45 days to two months of which the Bulgarian companies have been warned. The first public procurement contracts are expected to be awarded in October-November.

The first tenders concern the construction of infrastructure at and around the facilities. After construction is completed, new procedures will be organised for long-term contracts with companies that will maintain the bases and provide goods and services. Interest in the cooperation opportunities was also voiced by large banks and consultancy companies, such as Citigroup, Bulbank and Earnst&Young.

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The U.S. army plans to spend $60 mln (47.8 mln euro) on its military base in Novo Selo, southern Bulgaria, according a representative of the European headquarters of the U.S. army. The investments planned for Novo Selo need to be approved by the U.S. Congress and to be included in the U.S. budget 2007. The contracts will be signed in the summer of 2007 and the base will be built from 2008 to 2009. The U.S. army will spend $40 mln (31.9 mln euro) to $50 mln (39.88 mln euro) on the buildings and another $10 mln (7.976 mln euro) on the roads. The maintenance of the base will cost $1.3 mln (1.0 mln euro) annually.

The business opportunities to be offered by the U.S. military bases in Novo Selo, Bezmer, Graf Ignatievo and Ajtos were discussed at the conference entitled Bulgarian-U.S. Miltary Facilities: Possibilities for Trade and Partnership, which ended on June 27, 2006.

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The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is interested in financing the construction of an internal airport in the region of Bansko. The project envisages building an airport that will service aircraft of the Boeing and Airbus type of EU member states. The project is yet to be approved by the local authorities. The total value of the project is estimated at some BGN 300,000. US capitals may also be invested in the refurbishment of another internal airport: in Gorna Oryahovitsa.

US companies show interest in the Gorna Oryahovitsa airport, which is located near the military facility in Bezmer. Swiss logistics company Millitzer & Munch and Bulgaria's BM Port also showed interest in the airport. The US companies are already a step ahead of the competition after having clearly declared before the local authorities that they intend to invest in the airport.
A US organisation is initiator of a meeting in Dubrovnik that will discuss the development of small airports in the Balkans in October. Experts expect that the US interest in minor airports will increase due to their strategic location to US military facilities in Bulgaria.