Bulgaria, Turkey and Qatar will form a common project company to construct a 300km-long highway on Bulgarian territory for a total cost of BGN1.5bn ($964.5m).

The highway will link the southern town of Svilengrad, bordering Balkan neighbours Greece and Turkey, with the Danube River town of Ruse on the border of Romania.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov was quoted by Reuters as saying that the project is not EU-backed.

"It will be realised as a joint project with the participation of the three countries," Borisov added.

Bulgarian construction Minister Lilyana Pavlova said: "As decided at the meeting of the prime ministers of Bulgaria, Qatar and Turkey, we held a technical meeting over the construction of the Ruse-Svilengrad highway under the principle of the public-private partnership."

The principal representatives of the three countries have also decided to survey joint infrastructure projects, which would include the construction of a new motorway to connect Istanbul with the Danube River Bridge.

Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim al-Thani has said that Qatar will deposit $200m at the Bulgarian Central bank for the Balkan state, as well as invest €100m in Bulgaria over the next year in various sectors, such as infrastructure, tourism and agriculture.

The highway is expected to be completed in four years, according to Pavlova.