Sofia  - Bulgaria and Japan on Friday agreed a 36.93 billion yen (337 million dollars) credit for the construction of cargo terminals in Bulgaria's Black Sea ports Varna and Burgas.

The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation approved the 25- year credit, with a 7-year grace period and a 1.4 per cent interest rate, for the "construction and development" of container cargo terminals in the two ports by 2014.

"The development of maritime infrastructure was key in the development of Japan after the war," the Japanese ambassador to Bulgaria, Tsuneharu Takeda, said at the signing ceremony. "Maritime transport is equally vital for Bulgaria, as the European Union's eastern doorway."

Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007. The volume of its maritime traffic ports has more than doubled over the last few years and by more than 40 per cent since the start of 2008. (dpa)