About 300 employees of Burgas port, Bulgaria's largest port, went out on strike on Tuesday, February 16, over an allegedly unfavorable state loan to the port for a new terminal constructed solely to serve the deliveries of raw materials to Bulgaria's largest steel plant Kremikovtzi, Sofia News Agency has reported.
More than BGN 200 million (about $140 million) was poured into Burgas port over several years for the construction of a new terminal, Terminal 2A. Currently, the port is having difficulty meeting its payments for the money borrowed. Due to the bankruptcy and possible liquidation of Kremikovtzi, the new freight terminal at Burgas port has remained unused.
The protesters are demanding that all revenue from the port terminals remain with the company managing the port rather than go into the state budget through the state-owned port infrastructure company. They insist that, if the government does not agree to this condition, it should then cancel the debts of Burgas port.