The state aid amounting to EUR 112 million provided to the Bulgarian State Railways has a specific purpose. EUR 75 million will be paid to cover debts under the second contractual loan. EUR 20 million is owed to the state budget, because the country paid the guaranteed loan to the World Bank. EUR 15 million is owed to another banking institution. The EC gave Bulgaria a green light for those payments, Executive Director of Bulgarian State Railways Holding Vladimir Vladimirov told the Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday. We have already received the notification from the European Commission, which means that the EC approves the reforms at the Bulgarian State Railways. It also means that the company is now viable and the state can now interfere in the final stage of the reforms, in order to rescue completely that company and give BDZ prospects for development, Vladimir Vladimirov went on to say. The Bulgarian State Railways can receive an interest-free loan, in order to make those payments and later this loan can be covered by the money collected by the concession of Sofia Airport. This is the plan of the Bulgarian cabinet and it should be fulfilled in the next twelve to eighteen months, Vladimirov said. In his view, in 2010 BDZ was on the verge of bankruptcy and its indebtedness amounted to EUR 425 million. Currently the company owes some EUR 206 million. The Bulgarian State Railways paid in the recent years some EUR 300 million, including penalties, to cover its debts. If this huge amount was used for investments at the BDZ we would not have any problems related to shortage of trains at the moment. Our next step is to start purchasing new and modern railcars. This procedure will start at the end of September 2017 and we will take into consideration the requirements of the customers. The technological deadline for supply and commissioning is 24 months, but we can also rent some trains earlier. Until then the construction of most high-speed routes must be completed. However, this is not enough. The state cannot afford to make large-scale and quick investments in this sector at present, but it should at least make some moderate investments for a long period of time, in order to saturate the railway network with modern railcars and trains. In other words, we should have a long-term vision for the next ten to fifteen years how to develop the national state railways. We will also try to find some financial resource to increase salaries at least in some sectors of the Bulgarian State Railways. Fuel thefts were reduced significantly due to a series of measures, but the solution of that problem depends also on the electrification of the railway network, Vladimir Vladimirov further said.