Türkiye and Bulgaria are discussing plans to establish a new border crossing north of the existing Kapıkule facility in an effort to ease congestion and increase the capacity of one of Europe’s busiest land routes.

The proposed crossing, tentatively named “Kapıkule–Kapitan Andreevo North,” would serve as an alternative to the existing Kapıkule Border Gate, which handles large volumes of passenger and commercial traffic between Türkiye and Bulgaria.

Kapıkule, located in northwestern Türkiye, is the country's largest land border crossing and a critical transport corridor connecting Türkiye with Europe. Thousands of vehicles pass through the crossing every day, particularly trucks carrying goods between European markets and Türkiye.

The planned new crossing is intended to help distribute traffic more efficiently, reduce waiting times and strengthen the capacity of the Türkiye-Bulgaria border infrastructure.

According to a statement issued by the Edirne Governor’s Office on Friday, Turkish and Bulgarian delegations held talks on the proposed border gate and discussed measures to increase the overall capacity of border crossings between the two countries.

Following the talks, Edirne Governor Yunus Sezer, Turkish Deputy Trade Minister Sezai Uçarmak and Bulgarian Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev inspected the area north of Kapıkule where the new facility is planned.

The proposed project comes as Türkiye and Bulgaria seek to strengthen cross-border transport links and improve the flow of trade and passenger traffic between the two countries.

A new crossing north of Kapıkule could also provide additional capacity along the wider European transport corridor, particularly for international freight traffic connecting Türkiye with the European Union.

The Kapıkule–Kapitan Andreevo route is one of the most important gateways for Türkiye’s trade with Europe. Increasing its capacity is therefore expected to have broader implications for regional logistics and the movement of goods between Türkiye and EU markets. (ILKHA)