Accents:
National Port Development Program (2006 – 2015) (draft)
The National Port Development Program is developed in compliance with article 103a, par. 2 of the Law for Sea Space, Inland Water Ways and Ports of the Republic of Bulgaria (LSSIWWPRB).
The Program missionistoimprovetheefficientandqualityservicesprovidedtotheeconomyoftheRepublicofBulgaria through ports’ modernization and to ensure fast and secure services, increasing of transit traffic through the territory of the country and a raise of the competitiveness of the Bulgarian ports.
The reform that started in the public transport ports is an important priority of the development of the transport sector of Bulgaria. Bulgarian ports are part of the national transport system, which is integrated in the multimodal European transport network. That is why the development and modernization of the state transport infrastructure, being an integrated and integral part of the European transport network, is extremely important providing a suitable environment for country’s development and its integration into the EU.
Ports are important centers for the benefits of the entire transport sector having more than 60% of our economy import-export passing through them. Due to this they have an impact on the entire development of the economy. The reform of the Bulgarian ports started in 2000 with the adoption of the LSSIWWPRB and the constitution of the Executive Agency “Port Administration”. Thus, conditions have been created for the worldwide “Land Lord System”, where the state owns the port infrastructure and consigns it to private companies which are to provide port services according to the legislation in force. The international practice shows that this system creates significant opportunities for the private initiative development and creates the best conditions to establish competition in the field of port services.
The major purposes of the National Port Program are related to the need of:
- Completion of the reform and restructure of the state owned port operators aiming to create conditions for port services competition;
- Development of conditions and infrastructure to stimulate intermodal transport;
- Achievement of harmonious and balanced development and interaction between port areas and urban zones;
- Increaseofports’ capacity through modernization and reconstruction of existing transport infrastructure and building new one;
- Implementation of modern telecommunications and information technologies in the ports.
The National Port Program presents the major characteristics of the national port system, the structure and the situation of the Bulgarian ports, the indices showing the implementation of the set purposes and the institutional frame. The Program contains an analysis of the strong and weak points of the national port system, the opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis) and the trends of the cargo flows.
The major port development projects have been determined on the grounds of the analysis and forecasts of the cargo flows. The construction of container and Ro-Ro terminals, as extremely dynamical mode of transport, is of high significance. Serious attention has been paid to the construction of passenger terminals with business centres to achieve a multiplication effect through transformation of some parts of the port areainto sport-entertainment and commercial areas.
The National Port Program includes indicative amounts of funds needed to construct port reception facilities for ships wastes and cargo residues as well as port facilities ensuring the safety and security of the ports.
The National Port Program remains open to amendments and alterations through new investment initiatives conformant to market realities and compliant to the set priorities.
The Program has been developed during an especially important moment for Bulgaria – the last monitoring report of the European Commission determining the date of joining the EU. Considering the high requirements of the EU in all fields of our social and economic development, drafting of a program for the future of Bulgarian ports is adequate to the Bulgarian governmental policy for sustainable and prompt development of the transport sector at the Republic of Bulgaria.