Bulgaria to build duplicate border checkpoints with Serbia and Turkey

Bulgaria is taking a step towards opening two new joint border checkpoints with Serbia and Turkey. The outgoing government approved draft agreements providing for the construction of the Kalotina 2 and Kapitan Andreevo-North checkpoints. They are designed to "duplicate" the current facilities in order to take over part of the huge passenger traffic and put an end to the kilometer-long queues on the main transit corridors.

"Kalotina 2"

The new checkpoint on the Bulgarian-Serbian border will be located entirely on Bulgarian territory, in close proximity to the current territory of the village of Kalotina. The checkpoint is intended exclusively for the passage of persons and light vehicles.

It is planned to be seasonal and have fixed working hours in order to ease traffic during the most critical months (e.g., during the active summer season and major holidays).

The project has already received a positive opinion from the European Commission.

Serbia and Bulgaria will build the necessary road connections on their territories, with a joint expert commission specifying the technical parameters and exact border crossing points.

"Kapitan Andreevo-North"

The second approved agreement concerns the border with Turkey. The new "Kapitan Andreevo-Kapikule-North" crossing point, as its name suggests, will be located north of the existing crossing, which is one of the busiest land border crossings in the world.

It will be in the area of the village of Kapitan Andreevo (Svilengrad municipality) and the village of Kapikule (Edirne province). In addition to the opening of the new crossing, the agreement aims to comprehensively resolve issues related to the passage between the two countries, from the type of traffic to the number of lanes and working hours.

A joint commission will work on the legal and practical issues of construction, defining the operating regime for all types of cargo and passengers.

What's next?

The government is setting up joint expert commissions for both projects. Their job is to quickly figure out the technical specs for the road connections and how they'll work (full-time or seasonal).

These decisions are part of the country's broader strategy to improve east-west transport connectivity, with the new border crossings expected to significantly reduce waiting times at the border for both transit passengers and local residents.

Translated with DeepL.