A jaw-popping 786-mile motorway connecting five countries across Europe plus Turkey is part of a new and exciting mega-project.  

The revolutionary initiative will connect five European countries and Turkey in a multi-year project costing in excess of £33 billion. The mammoth project was revealed earlier this year with its aim being to connect northeastern countries with southeastern countries via motorways and other roads. The reality of this translates as driving from the Baltic region to the Aegean Sea…by car! Right now, this is not a possibility due to a shortage or lack of interconnecting motorways. This means that travellers across Europe have to traverse Central Europe, which is not practical or time-efficient. The Belgian company in charge of the project, Large Infrastructure Projects, announced the ambitious plan called ABC+De as well as the countries involved in the planning to include: Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Hungary and Slovakia and Turkey. The budget for the project is around €40 billion (£33.6 billion), and should hopefully take between five to eight years to reach completion, although this is only an approximate time span. There are also plans to extend the road network further to Cyrpus and even Scandinavia.

Motorway project between six countries aims to complete against Sino-Russian expansion

At the heart of the project is an element of competition. Sino-Russian expansion (which refers to the China-Soviet relationship) has developed and the ABC+De project aims to mirror this initiative to connect countries. Creating a road network in this way would also offer dual benefits for NATO and the EU. It would also boost tourism and encourage visitors to travel to less well-known corners of Europe, developing the economy in areas less benefited by tourism. If roads to less well-known parts of Europe become easier and more direct, it should remove hurdles faced by tourists when they wish to travel to these more remote regions. The Bulgarian company also hopes that economic integrations and the movement of goods between borders of the countries involved will be facilitated as a result – all in all improving the economy of the individual countries as well as their renown.

786-mile motorway route will cut journey time by three weeks 

The existing Suez-Baltica route is lengthy and indirect and it is hoped that the latest infrastructure innocation will reduce the route by 3,100 miles, meaning that transport will be able to make the same journey three weeks earlier than originally. Not only will the mega-project introduce significant transport infrastcruture into the countries involved, but will also encourage other infrastructural development . ADN Bulgaria  (The Atlantic Club of Bulgaria, dedicated to exploring how innovation can help reform global security, international relations and democratic governance) said: “The project involves the construction of two cargo ports – one off the Aegean Sea in Greece, near Alexandroupolis, and another on the Baltic Sea in Poland, between Gransk and Kaliningrad.” It added that the countries will be “connected by a motorway, high-speed rail, fibre optics, 5G and all the accompanying logistics and infrastructure elements.”

Could this be a step towards stronger unification across European countries and Turkey?

In a period marked by challenges and uncertainty across Europe, Bulgaria’s ambitious infrastructure project offers a hopeful step toward unity, economic resilience, and regional growth. By linking five European nations and Turkey, this new network could foster stronger economic ties, promote tourism, and simplify transportation between the Baltic regions and the Aegean Sea. Amid recent conflicts, this initiative serves as a reminder that, even in difficult times, countries can come together to build a more connected and cooperative future.

Find other articles on Transport