Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Ivaylo Moskovski opened the new River Information Services Center in Ruse and handed over the building’s operating permit to the Director General of DPPI. The investment amounts to nearly 6 million leva, provided by the European Regional Development Fund and the state budget through Operational Programme “Transport 2007 – 2013.”
The Center will centralize the management of the river information system in the Bulgarian section of the Danube River, which is being built as part of an EU-funded project.
The building houses a high-tech vessel traffic management center, multi-functional rooms for simulators, specialist training, and a crisis management room for water transport incidents. Within the premises of the RIS Center (River Information Services), a complex of systems is located that maximizes the use of “green” energy sources and its own photovoltaic park, which can supply almost all the necessary electricity for the normal operation of the building.
During the design of the River Information Services Center in Ruse, the experience of more than 20 countries was studied, including leaders in water transport – Belgium, Great Britain, USA, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, as well as practices in other Danube countries. Bulgaria is the seventh country along the Danube River to put into operation such an operational traffic control center and the first to build a specialized standalone building for the management of river information services.
The project “Establishment of a River Information System in the Bulgarian Section of the Danube River – BULRIS” is one of the most complex within Operational Programme “Transport 2007 – 2013.” It includes design and construction activities, delivery of hardware, communication, radio relay equipment, a radiotelephone system, a control, monitoring, and management system, etc. In early 2014, the construction of the main communication infrastructure, the installation of the main equipment, and the software development of the system were completed. 16 communication points were built and equipped, located along the Danube River in the regions of Vidin, Montana, Vratsa, Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse, and Silistra. As of 2014-01-04, the river information system in the Bulgarian section of the Danube River – BULRIS is operational, and as of today, its maintenance is carried out at the River Information Services Center – Ruse.
