Bulgaria, Turkey and Qatar are ready to set up a joint project company to build a key road linking the northeastern city of Ruse with the southern town of Svilengrad, the government in Sofia said following a meeting between the three countries' prime ministers in the port city of Varna on Friday.
The project cost is evaluated at 1.0 billion levs ($648 million/511 million euro), the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) said.
The construction ministers of the three countries are scheduled to meet next Thursday to discuss details of the route, construction, expropriation procedures, project's profitability and traffic figures.
In the beginning of the month, the Bulgarian government said it had decided to initiate a concession procedure for the design and construction of the Ruse-Svilengrad road, adding that the state will cover only the expenses related to land expropriation procedures.
The Ruse-Svilengrad road will lie on the route of a pan-European highway connecting Europe with Istanbul and onwards with the Middle East.