Chinese PM Invites Intl Banks to Participate in Bulgaria-Greece Rail Project
China is inviting international banks to finance a project for the construction of a high-speed railway linking Bulgaria's Black Sea coast to Greece's Aegean ports, Chinese prime minister Li Keqiang said on Friday.
"Such a project should be carried out in a transparent way and I invite third parties to participate, for example, international organisations and banks," Keqiang said speaking through an interpreter during a news conference after a meeting with Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borisov broadcast by Bulgarian TV channel Kanal 3.
A consortium can be established with international banks for the construction of the high-speed railway, while other formats of cooperation are also acceptable, Keqiang said.
In September 2017, Bulgaria signed a memorandum of understanding with Greece on the development of a high-speed railway corridor linking major Greek Aegean ports with Bulgarian ports on the Danube river and the Black Sea coast. The project aims to combine road, rail, river and sea transport by linking by rail the Greek cities of Thessaloniki, Kavala and Alexandroupolis to Burgas, Varna and Ruse in Bulgaria and is expected to attract large investors from the Middle East, China, Russia and other major markets, the Bulgarian government said back then.