Bulgaria's government decided on Wednesday to launch talks to terminate a JPY 37 billion loan deal with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

The country signed an agreement in 2008 to obtain funds for building container terminals at the Black Sea ports of Varna and Bourgas. Their construction, however, has not been started yet, which made the government drop the project.

The move was also prompted by the fact that the port of Bourgas and state-owned company Port Infrastructure were facing difficulties in servicing another loan from the Japanese bank, worth JPY 4.3 billion. The finance was extended in 1998 for the construction of a bulk cargo terminal at the port, which was completed in 2010.