Ruse, on the Danube, December 17 (BTA) - Transport and Communications Minister Nikolay Sabev (centre of photo) Friday said that the city of Ruse would have an airport and that passengers and freight would cross the Danube Bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu (Romania) more easily. Sabev talked to reporters after a discussion on "Development and Future of Air and Land Transport in Ruse and the Region". He said he was pleased that many valuable proposals were made at the meeting.

Ruse Mayor Pencho Milkov said at the meeting that the airport could be restored. The local authorities are working on this but they need the government's support.

Bulgarian Aviation Industry Association Chairman Todor Ivandjikov said the runway and the terminal were well preserved and could be restored easily.

The GullivAir airline is planning to operate regular passenger flights between Ruse and Sofia.

Commenting on heavy traffic and truck tailbacks at the Danube Bridge border checkpoint, Sabev said a project facilitating passenger and freight traffic would be piloted once it gets the government's approval. "Those are various small measures which will speed things up when implemented as a system," he said, adding that if the project is a success, the same will be done at the other border checkpoints.

Answering a question, Sabev said all competitions for senior positions at the Transport Ministry would be stopped and new competitions would be announced.