The project company for the construction of a major highway running from Romania to Turkey and Greece via Bulgaria (aka the Ruse-Svilengrad Road) is to become operational in October.

The project will be implemented through a public-private partnership scheme.

The latest news surrounding the Ruse-Svilengrad high-speed road project were announced Tuesday after the second working meeting of representatives of the participating countries (Bulgaria, Turkey and Qatar).

According to reports of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), the three countries will be proportionally represented in the company.

The project company will carry out the planning and the financial analysis of the construction and exploitation of the road.

Each of the three participating countries will nominate two representatives in a supervisory board that will be tasked with preparing a three-year budget framework and a memorandum of cooperation.

Lilyana Pavlova, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, specified in a Tuesday statement that Bulgaria would not have any other financial commitment than the expropriation procedures and the issuance of construction permits.

She explained that a future concessionaire would cover the cost for the construction of the toll road.

Pavlova added that alternative routes via the Varbitsa Pass and the Shipka Pass were also being considered.

In early May 2012, Lilyana Pavlova announced that Bulgaria would seek public-private partnership for the construction of the Ruse-Veliko Tarnovo-Svilengrad-Istanbul toll road.

She said that the Ruse-Svilengrad road would allow a faster connection of the Bosphorus Strait with the Danube Bridge through Pan-European Transport Corridor No. 9.

The Regional Development Minister specified that the project for the construction of the 300 km section was expected to attract investors from China, Qatar and Oman.