The Ferry Complex may hinder privatisation of the Freight Services unit of BDZ

The Ferry Complex in Varna may turn privatisation of the Freight Services unit of BDZ, the state railways, into a complicated affair because of anti-trust legislation, Georgi Minchev, head of the Bulgarian Association of Freight Forwarding, Transport and Logistics, told Klassa.bg. Rather than making the deal appealing, the inclusion of BSR assets within the complex will make the company's potential new owner a "client" of the Competition Protection Commission (CPC). And that's because, in 2004, CPC ruled that the Ferry Complex, and, by extension, its operator have a dominant geographic position.

At present, BSR owns the two bridges and the cart replacement workshop, an essential part of the Ferry Complex technology. Under European requirements, all carriers must be granted equal infrastructure access. This means that the new owner of the company will be forced to share its newly-acquired assets with other market players.

"This is exactly the kind of asset uncertainties and hidden obligations that put off many of the potential buyers of the freight services unit," explained Minchev, who is also Vice-Chairman of the Governing Council of the Bulgarian-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said such problems dissuaded Russian investors, who showed serious interest.

According to Georgi Minchev the new procedure for privatisation of the freight services must be prepared in consultation with CPC in order to avoid further complications like the Ferry complex.

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