Page 23 - bne_newspaper_June_29_2018

Weekly Lists
June 29, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 23
bne:
Infrastructure
Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece to set up trans- Balkan corridor for testing automated vehicles
Moldova’s key gas pipeline project faces obstacles from Gazprom-controlled Moldovatransgaz
Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece signed an agreement to establish a trans-Balkan corridor for testing of connected and automated vehi- cles on June 26, Bulgaria’s transport ministry said in a statement.
The corridor is part of a larger initiative of 29 European countries on development of large-scale testing sites of connected and automated driving on European motorways in the form of cross-border corridors.
“With the help of technologies, drivers will be able to make the right decisions and to adapt to road conditions. At the same time, the project will have a positive effect on the environment and will stimulate innovations,” the statement quoted Bulgaria’s Transport Minister Ivaylo Moskovski as saying.
The incumbent natural gas transport company in Moldova, Moldo- vatransgaz controlled by Gazprom, has refused to give its consent to the country’s key strategic project, the Ungheni-Chisinau pipeline that is supposed to bring Romanian natural gas to Moldova’s main industrialised area, Mold Street reported.
The sale of Moldova’s strategic natural gas transport company VestMol- dovatransgaz to Romania’s Transgaz was signed on March 28 in Chis- inau. Upon taking over VestMoldovatransgaz, Transgaz will operate the Iasi-Ungheni interconnector between the two countries, and will build a pipeline to bring natural gas to the industrial areas around the capi- tal city Chisinau, thus ending Moldova's dependence on Russian gas.
Moldova’s authorities reportedly suggested Transgaz to disregard Moldovatransgaz’s opposition to the project. But this remains a significant obstacle.
The development of Georgia’s maritime transport sector is of vital impor- tance to the country, newly appointed Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said during a visit to the Black Sea port at Batumi on June 25.
Tbilisi aims to improve its position as a transit state bridging Europe and Asia, and hopes to benefit from participating in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), formerly One Belt, One Road (OBOR), Beijing’s strategy to revive old and create new transport routes across the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa.
Currently, the maritime sector contributes over GEL400mn (€140mn) to the Georgian economy every year, according to Bakhtadze. However, the prime minister lamented the depletion of the Georgian fleet in recent years.
Georgia must revive its sea fleet, new PM says