Bulgaria budgets EV and rail infrastructure investments
Bulgaria has budgeted 92 million levs for EV charging infrastructure, with most of the funding coming through the European Union. Local media broke the news as part of a more extensive infrastructure and transport investment worth billions to the country.
As for the EV budget, the equivalent of 47mn euros shall help Bulgaria build 160 charging stations for electric vehicles on roads across the country and four charging stations at national ports. SeeNews cites information from the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport when reporting the details.
Up to 40 million euros of these funds will come from EU grants from 2021 to 2027. It is not known what kind of charging stations Bulgaria plans to erect. The country has one of the least dense networks in the EU.
Initiatives to change this are, however, underway. Reportedly, non-governmental organisations and the state’s grid operator ESO target installing 10,000 EV charging stations in Bulgaria over the next few years. In addition, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has released funding of 40 mn euros to CPO Eldrive to construct 10,574 new charging stations in Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania and Latvia.
As for the bigger budget in Bulgaria mentioned earlier, it amounts to 3.72 billion levs, earmarked to improve the country’s road and rail infrastructure, the ministry said in a separate press release on Monday.
Part of the improvement will be new electric trains. The government plans to purchase seven double-deck and 35 single-deck electric locomotives, 20 push-pull trains, 18 electric shunting locomotives, and on-board equipment for 108 electric and standard locomotives.
The manufacturers have not been disclosed since Bulgaria will issue a revised public tender by the end of this month. The contract/s will be worth 54 million levs, about 28mn euros.
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