In brief
The Balkans Digital Gateway Works, set to run for 36 months, will deploy two new fibre‑optic routes and upgrade existing infrastructure to provide up to 200 terabits per second of capacity. Funding of €10.1 million comes from the EU, while the remaining €13.9 million is supplied by local partners. The project aims to boost regional digital economy and resilience against disruptions.
A 36‑month, €24 million initiative known as the Balkans Digital Gateway Works (BDGW) was unveiled Thursday at a conference in Athens organized by Vestitel. The project, financed by the European Union and local partners, will construct new high‑speed fibre‑optic routes linking Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, with future extensions envisioned toward Moldova and Ukraine. Start‑up work is scheduled to begin in December 2025, and the corridor will be capable of transmitting data at speeds of up to 200 terabits per second.
Project Scope and Infrastructure
The BDGW will build two new fibre‑optic routes –– one between Burgas, Bulgaria and Alexandroupolis, Greece, and another linking Ofrinio, Greece, with Serres, Greece –– while modernising the existing telecommunications backbone that runs from Sofia, Bulgaria, to Thessaloniki, Greece. Reconstruction will also focus on the Sofia‑Kulata and Kulata‑Thessaloniki sections, where ducts and cables will be replaced to improve capacity and reliability. The Burgas‑Alexandroupolis link is expected to provide additional connectivity between the Black Sea region and the Middle East, while the Ofrinio‑Serres line will bridge the main corridor with future Aegean coast connection points.
Alongside land routes, the conference presentations highlighted plans to develop submarine communication links between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. These links could further strengthen cross‑border traffic flows and create direct conduits between central Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. The total projected capacity of the network is up to 40 terabits per second per segment, yielding a corridor that can handle 200 terabits per second in aggregate.
Funding and Timeline
EU contribution to the project amounts to €10.1 million, while the remaining €13.9 million comes from national governments and private investors, according to the conference materials. The programme will run for 36 months, with construction and upgrade activities slated to commence in December 2025 and reach completion by the end of 2029. The project planners emphasised that the extended timeline allows for comprehensive testing and phased deployment, ensuring that each segment meets stringent performance and resilience standards.
The BDGW’s phased approach is designed to minimise disruption to existing services. During the initial phase, new fibre‑optic cables will be laid alongside existing ducts, reducing the need for extensive civil works. Subsequent phases will focus on replacing key choke points, upgrading switching equipment, and deploying advanced routing software to enable dynamic failover and load balancing.
Implications for Digital Economy and Resilience
According to the conference speakers, the new corridor will dramatically improve access to international Internet traffic exchange points, a factor the organisers say is critical for the digital economy across Southeast Europe. By increasing bandwidth and reducing latency, businesses in the region will be able to compete more effectively with global markets, enhancing opportunities for e‑commerce, cloud services and digital start‑ups. The project also promises to extend cloud‑based services to rural and underserved areas, thereby supporting inclusive growth.
Resilience was identified as a key benefit of the BDGW. The dual‑route architecture will allow the network to reroute traffic automatically in the event of natural disasters, cyberattacks or geopolitical disruptions that could target single transmission paths. By dispersing critical data pathways across multiple physical routes and undersea jump points, the project aims to reduce the risk of prolonged outages and preserve the integrity of essential communications, including those used by emergency services, financial institutions and public utilities.
The conference noted that the corridor’s high capacity—up to 200 terabits per second—could also support emerging technologies such as 5G deployment, autonomous vehicle coordination and high‑definition streaming services. The EU attributed these potential downstream effects to the broader aim of establishing a competitive, digital‑first economy in the Balkan region.
While the project was presented at a private sector‑led conference, the stakeholders emphasized that public accountability will be maintained through regular reporting to European and national regulatory bodies. The EU’s involvement ensures that the corridor complies with broader digital single‑market policy objectives, including data protection, net neutrality and cross‑border cooperation frameworks. Local government officials who accepted the EU funding pledged to align the BDGW’s milestones with national digital development plans, ensuring that the infrastructure investments dovetail with existing public‑private initiatives.
Stakeholders highlighted that the BDGW could bring long‑term economic and societal benefits to the people of Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. By creating a robust backbone for future digital services, the project aims to provide a platform for innovation, create jobs in the technology sector, and promote greater digital inclusion across the region. The EU believes that, by bridging connectivity gaps, the BDGW will support the democratic values of transparency, participation and trust in digital public services.
