The Minister of Transport, Georgi Gvozdeikov, admits that “Lukoil Neftohim Burgas” can make claims against the state because of the early termination of the concession of the Rosenets oil port.
Exactly one month ago, the State Port Authority seized control of the crude oil import terminal from the Burgas refinery by a decision of the parliament. During the week, the proposal to ban the import of Russian oil and drop the exemption given by the EC for importing such oil until the end of 2024, despite Brussels’ sanctions against Russia, also passed the first reading in the National Assembly. The appointment of a special manager by the state is foreseen if necessary, and a new state representative was also elected at the refinery. A few days ago, Lukoil warned that the refusal of Russian oil endangers the company’s work, but the state sees it as a chance to take control of the refinery.
“We have complied with the law. At the moment, the port is functioning normally, oil tankers are being unloaded. But I cannot answer specifically about the claims of Lukoil. This may be decided at the level of the EC or the European Court, I have no idea.” , commented on Sunday before the BNR Georgi Gvozdeikov.
He also focused on the vision of the rulers for the development of railway transport. According to him, railways should be seen as a business model. He noted that so far the state has not invested in rail transport, but he expects this to change with the government’s announcement of new public procurement for new rolling stock.
“Modernization is not only related to the purchase of new trains, but also to a new vision and a new strategy that we have started to work on. It will not happen quickly, but we hope that by 2026, when under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan the new trains must be delivered, Bulgaria has a clear strategy and a clear business plan. So far the sector has relied entirely on the subsidy from the state and then stops any thought of developing this product, i.e. providing a service from which the state can won”, commented Gvozdeikov.
According to him, after our country received about BGN 1 billion free of charge for the railways from the recovery plan, if it fails to make a 15 or 20% profit from it, it means that we cannot manage such a resource. “I don’t see a problem in the future for railway transport to generate income, to be self-supporting and even to be profitable”, stated Gvozdeikov.
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