BDZ-Passenger Transport accounts distraint The creditors of the second debenture loan granted to BDZ Holding levied distraint on the accounts of BDZ - Passenger Transport. The reason - the subsidiary company is a joint debtor with the holding company. The distraint is for BGN 40 million, Velik Zanchev, Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, announced. It is partial, Zanchev specified. " The whole debt due from a second bond issue is BGN 103 million, and this second bond issue was issued in 2007. We have paid a part of it and BDZ Holding owes BGN 103 million principal to date," he explained.
Source: Standart (31.05.2018)

BDZ Will Not Sell Assets after Creditors Had Its Accounts Frozen by Court The Bulgarian State Railways (BDZ) issued a press release denying media reports that assets of the national rail carrier will be auctioned off in connection with a preservation of its accounts by creditors. According to the top story in Thursday's "Douma", creditors have obtained a preservation order for the accounts of BDZ Passenger Services over about BGN 60 million in principal payments and BGN 30 million in overdue interest payments and threaten to sell more than 1,200 carriages of BDZ Freight Services and all 25 Siemens Desiro multiple unit passenger trains by which the loan is secured. The BDZ press release specified that two of the creditors under the Second Bond Issue have indeed brought an action against BDZ Passenger Services before the Sofia City Court for BGN 40 million principal of the loan, and the court allowed part of the claim, amounting to BGN 20 million, in favour of the bondholders, as a result of which bank accounts of the company have been attached. The BGN 240 million Second Bond Issue was contracted in 2007 to refinance outstanding obligations to various institutions for current maintenance of freight cars. At this point, the balance due under the bond issue is BGN 103 million.
Source: Dnevnik (01.06.2018)

Bulgaria to provide aid to indebted railways operator BDZ Bulgaria's government will have to provide aid to indebted state-owned railways operator BDZ Holding to prevent a halt in its operations, finance minister Vladislav Goranov said on Friday. "If we want the railways operator to be sustainable, in addition to the hundreds of millions, given from the central government budget each year, this means of transport should be legally prioritised in some way," Goranov said in a press release issued by the ministry. Last week, the Sofia City Court froze 40 million levs ($23.9 million/20.4 million euro) in bank accounts held by BDZ Passenger Services, a unit of BDZ Holding, due to BDZ Holding's failure to make payments due on its 120 million euro bond which matured in 2017, Velik Zanchev, deputy transport minister, said in a video file posted on the website of public TV station BNT. BDZ Passenger Services is a co-debtor on the bond issue. In 2007, BDZ successfully placed a 10-year 120 million euro bond issue, consisting of 120,000 bonds with a nominal vlaue of 1,000 euro each. The issue carries a floating rate of 3M EURIBOR plus a premium of 3.5% on an annual basis. BDZ planned to use proceeds from the bond placement to finance repairs of rolling stock and refinance existing debt.
Source: mediapool.bg (04.06.2018)

Bulgaria's BDZ Passenger Services offices up for sale for 3.7 mln euro A part of a historic building in Sofia where Bulgarian state-owned railway company BDZ Passenger Services is headquartered, has been put up for sale by a private enforcement agent for a starting price of 7.3 million levs ($4.4 million/3.7 million euro), local media reported on Monday. The private enforcement agent has put up for sale an area of 1,854 sq m, which represents half of the total area of the building, Capital business newspaper reported in its online edition. Last week, Capital said that bank accounts of BDZ Passenger Services have been temporarily blocked due to creditors' claims. On Thursday, Bulgarian transport minister Ivaylo Moskovski said he has asked the finance ministry to grant state aid to the company.
Source: Other (05.06.2018)

Government agrees to 100M leva purchase of new passenger trains for Bulgarian state railways Bulgaria’s government agreed on July 18 to an investment project that envisages spending BGN 100 million on new passenger trains for state railways BDZ in the year 2020. The project foresees the acquisition of two sets of train carriages, first 41 and then 44, able to travel at speeds of up to 200 kilometres an hour. BDZ Holding chief executive Vladimir Vladimirov told the media in April that he intended starting a process of investment in passenger train for the state railways, and expected that by the end of the term of the current government, there would be new trains on the lines of Bulgaria. In June, it emerged that debt collectors were moving against BDZ. This was followed by the Finance Minister, Vladislav Goranov, announcing that the fiscal reserve would be used to assist BDZ. /publics.bg
Source: Other (19.07.2018)

BDZ will buy new trains with EU funds BDZ Passenger Services will buy new trains with EU funds. This is clear from the words of the Minister of Transport Ivaylo Moskovski during the cabinet meeting on July 18, when the government allocated up to BGN 100 mln for the purchase of new railway rolling stock. The idea is that from the following year BDZ Passenger Services will be positioned in "such good financial condition, that they can already be beneficiaries under the Operational programs, both Transport and Environment, and can start gradually renew the rolling stock through the European Structural Funds, as we do for the metro," says Moskovski. At present, BDZ Passenger Services is not a beneficiary of the two programs financed by the European funds. From Moskovsky's statement, it is not clear whether the state railway operator can get Europen for trains from the current operational programs or will have to wait for the next programming period after 2020. The second option is more likely. During Boyko Borisov's second cabinet, Moskovski repeatedly announced plans for BDZ to become a beneficiary of the Operational Program Transport in order to buy new trains.
Source: mediapool.bg (24.07.2018)

Bulgarian state railways open 345 mln euro tender for supply of passenger railcars Bulgarian state-owned railways company BDZ Passengers opened a BGN 675 million tender for the supply of 42 passenger railcars, it said on Friday. The assignment also calls for technical support for a period of 15 years, BDZ said in a public procurement notice. The deadline for submitting offers in the tender is October 12. Bids will be ranked according to price and quality criteria. Last month, Bulgaria's transport ministry opened a tender for awarding a 35-year concession contract for the operation of Sofia International Airport and said it will use part of the proceeds from the concession to finance indebted BDZ. The estimated value of the concession contract is EUR 3.9 billion.
Source: Banker (20.08.2018)

Siemens and Skoda are appealing the tender for new BDZ locomotives Siemens and Skoda have filed complaints with the Commission for Protection of Competition against the conditions in the public procurement announced by BDZ for the supply of 42 new modular trains. The two companies are the biggest suppliers of the Bulgarian railways over the years. "Any potential participant has the right to file a complaint with the CPC if it does not agree with the conditions of the procedure. At present, BDZ Passenger Transport has no grounds to take action to terminate the procedure ", the reply of BDZ reads.The deadline for submitting offers is October 12. The order was announced in August, it is for 22 trains with 230 seats each with increased comfort, 8 with 230 seats with standard comfort and 12 with 150 seats with standard comfort. The value is BGN 675 million excluding VAT, compared to the previously announced BGN 450 million. The difference of BGN 225 million is intended for maintenance of these trains for a period of 15 years.
Source: Dnevnik (14.09.2018)