President Plevneliev's Veto Survives Parliament Vote
(Sofia, Jan 12) - Bulgarian MPs supported President Rossen Plevneliev's veto on the Investments Encouragement Act and returned it for further discussion.
Only three MPs supported the Act, 24 voted against it and 95 abstained from voting.
President Plevneliev vetoed the new law because, as he made it a point, the new regulations for residence of foreign investors in Bulgaria create many obstacles for their business activities....
Bulgaria to Start Nabucco in June 2013
(Sofia, Jan 11) - The construction of the Bulgarian section of the Nabucco pipeline will start in June 2013, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov informed at the first ministerial meeting of the project in 2013 in Sofia.
As the current head of the rotating presidency of the project, Bulgaria is calling for fix deadlines, the PM said. By June Bulgaria will have all the construction permits and mining companies from the "Shah Deniz-2" field will decide...
Construction of NPP Kozloduy's Seventh Reactor to Start in 2016
(Sofia, Jan 12) - "The first sod of NPP Kozloduy's seventh reactor will be turned in 2016," Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Ministry Delyan Dobrev said.
His statement was also supported by Sergey Tsochev, chairman of Bulgaria's Nuclear Regulatory Agency.
"The preparation of the necessary analyses and documents regarding the selection of a site for NPP Kozloduy's seventh reactor is to be completed in the second half of...
Bulgaria has secured a one-year extension to repay the 250 million euro bridge loan arranged by BNP Paribas to fund preliminary work on the planned Belene nuclear power plant on the Danube River, Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev said on May 7, as quoted by Focus news agency.
The option to postpone the due date was contingent on securing 55 million euro for immediate repayment of the amounts loaned by Belgium's Dexia and Japanese bank Mizuho. The funds will be provided to state electricity...
Sun Edison this week sold Bulgaria's largest solar park to a consortium of investors for Ј142m. The 60.4-megawatt Karadzhalovo solar park in southern Bulgaria began operating in March and cost Ј144m, according to the International Finance Corporation, which helped fund the project....
An enormous new vacation complex is to be build on Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea coast, announced Atanas Stoilov, Mayor of the Municipality of Aksakovo near Varna.
Stoilov told reporters Tuesday, as cited by Darik Radio, that the new resort will be built between the village of General Kantardzhievo and the Albena resort complex on a plot of 300 decares.
In his words, the project first started several years ago when it was initiated by French investors. After one of the investor's...
Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation, DKEVR, has already adopted one of the Electricity and Gas Directives, requested by the European Commission.
The statement was made Friday by the DKEVR Chairman, Angel Semerdzhiev.
It was reported Thursday that EC is referring Bulgaria, Estonia and the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to fully apply the EU internal energy market rules.
According to the EC's press office, to date...
Italian companies may be attracted in privatization projects, including for tourist sites, as well as concessions agreements and modernization schemes for airports, and construction and reconstruction of road and railway infrastructure in Bulgaria, according to Minister Bozhidar Lukarski.
Speaking Tuesday at the opening of an economic forum titled “Bulgaria and Italy: Together for Achieving Growth”, Lukarski pointed out that the trade and economic cooperation between Bulgaria and Italy...
12 July 12, 2017, Sofia. Miss Hosting (one of the largest Scandinavian hosting providers) announced that it has chosen Sofia as it global center of operations. The company plans to hire up to 100 people in the next 2 years to support its global growth as well as its entry into the Bulgarian hosting market.
The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with offices in Miami, USA, Nashik, India and local presence in Norway,...
Russian Investment funds show increased and growing interest in Bulgarian SPA centers both on the Black Sea coast and inside the country.
The information was reported by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) Tuesday, citing the President of the Bulgarian branch of the international real estate federation FIABCI, who said Russian investors are inquiring about possibility to purchase entire complexes at once.
According to the President, this a a new trend to replace individual private Russian...
Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev is presenting investment opportunities at a forum in Berlin on Tuesday.
The "economic dialogue" forum "Bulgaria-Germany – New Opportunities for Trade, Cooperation and Investments in Bulgaria" is organized by the Bulgarian Embassy in Germany, the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DBIHK), the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce and the German Agency for Commerce and Investments with the aid of the...
Greek investment fund Bluehouse Capital is to acquire four properties of Sofia-based ERG Capital 1 and ERG Capital 2 REITs in a EUR 27 M deal, according to media reports.
Bluehouse Capital has already signed preliminary contracts with the two companies, majority-owned by the Bulgarian-American Enterprise Fund (BAEF), Dnevnik daily reported, citing insiders to the negotiations.
The Bulgarian subsidiary of real estate consultants Colliers International has been picked as consultant on the...
Bluehouse Capital, the Greek private equity real estate investment management firm with a focus in the property markets of South East Europe, is the investor that will pay EUR 27 million to acquire the four properties of Bulgarian real estate investment trusts (REITs) ERG Capital 1 and 2, sources close to the negotiations told Dnevnik.
The Greek company has already signed preliminary accords with the REITs, owned by Bulgarian American Investment Fund (BAIF).
On Wednesday, BAIF officially...
EU-financed projects worth more than BGN 2 million should be considered first-class investments, a move that would double the speed of administrative servicing, according to Tomislav Donchev, Bulgaria’s minister in charge of EU funds absorption.
Alongside fast-track administrative support, Bulgaria’s first-class investors also get the right to purchase state property with no tender of competition as well as receive government assistance in infrastructure development adjoining their...
Part of the deductions of the business sector for local taxes should be granted for investments in the Bulgarian resorts - this is one of the proposals for amendments to the legislation drawn by the Union of Owners of Sunny Beach (UOSB) and the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association. According to Elena Ivanova, UOSB Chairwoman, in the first place, certain criteria should be prepared and they should determine which resorts are national resorts. Currently, they are defined as settlements of...
Western Bulgaria and the energy sector are most attractive for investments, shows an analysis of InvestNet.bg – the Bulgarian investment and business network. Information activities and telecommunications are also attractive to businesses and the health care sector is next in the ranking.
A pilot study for the third quarter of 2010, shows that the investment activity in the country is unlikely to improve before the end of the year. Entrepreneurs described the high unemployment, the...
German-Bulgarian company SRS-Bulgaria EOOD will plunk BGN 483.7 million in the construction of wind power plant near General Toshevo, in the east of the southeast European country.
The 60-turbine Spasovo wind farm, with a nameplate capacity of 150 MW—180 MW, will stomach BGN 6.5 million in 2010 and a further BGN 292.6 million and BGN 186 million in the following two years, respectively.
The project will create 20 jobs. Construction works are scheduled for completion in...
Bulgaria's Economy and Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, fully backed the cabinet's plans to build a Formula 1 racing track near Sofia.
In a Wednesday interview for the TV channel Nova Televizia, Traikov stated great results are only brought by great goals, referring to the Formula 1 project.
On August 30, the Minister and the Chair of the Abu Dhabi state company Emirates Associated Business Group (EABG), Mohammed Abdul Jalil al Blouki, signed an economic cooperation memorandum providing...
A very large Western investor has expressed interest in one of the terminals of the Port of Burgas and is willing to invest a total of ?10 bn, became clear yesterday after the meeting on the development of the ports in Varna and Burgas, Ruse and Lom. It was attended by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Deputy PM and Minister of Finance Simeon Djankov, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Traycho Traykov, as well as by Deputy Minister of Transport Kamen Kichev, experts and MPs.
The future of...
American companies are showing increased interest in various energy projects in Bulgaria and are researching their investment options, the new Bulgarian Ambassador to the USA, Elena Poptodorova told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) in an exclusive interview.
Her Excellency, who just started her second term as Bulgaria’s Ambassador in Washington, DC, after serving at the same position in 2002-2008, has pointed out that nuclear energy, renewable energy, and shale gas extraction are being...
The Japanese company Toshiba is planning to invest in construction of solar power plants in the USA and countries in Europe, including Bulgaria.
The company has annouocned it is expecting an income of USD 1,8 B from these investments by March 2016.
Toshiba will begin implementing its investment plan with the construction of a 10 MW solar power plant in Bulgaria, which is expected to begin working in the next financial year.
The plant will be located near the Bulgarian city of Yambol...
The construction of a new plant for the production of biofuels will begin by the end of 2010 in Bulgaria's southern city of Kardzhali.
The information was provided by Yves Crits, CEO of the Belgium company 4Energy Invest, which specializes in renewable energy by creating and managing a portfolio of small to middle-sized locally embedded projects that transform biomass into energy.
Crits is in Kardzhali on the invitation of the Member of the European Parliament, Vladko Panayotov. The CEO...
The German-Bulgarian company SRS Bulgaria will invest close to BGN 500 M to create a wind power park nearby the town of General Toshevo in northeastern Bulgaria.
The investment of the company, registered in the northern Bulgarian city of Pleven, will span over three years 2010-2012 and will open 20 new workplaces.
The project involves constructing and exploitation of a wind power station with 60 generators with 150-180 MW power.
The power generators will be placed nearby General...
"Two buildings of 17 and 24 floors could be built in front of the Bonsist hall close to the University for National and World Economy," said yesterday Architect Boriana Shivacheva from the Civil Association Beli Brezi. She explained that the Detailed Spatial Development Plan (DSDP) of the district of Studentski Grad, adopted last month by the Sofia Municipal Council was a prerequisite for the realization of such works. Shivacheva explained that it was possible that a bulding of 20 floors be...
The opening of new fields in Bulgaria will boost production by 7,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Melrose Resources said, as interim pre-tax profits at the Edinburgh-based oil and gas group jumped by more than a third.
Melrose, which has operations in Egypt, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, said it produced an average of 40,000 boe/d in the first half of this year, driven by its offshore Egyptian assets.
The group expects to receive a boost when the first of two Bulgarian fields begins...
Czech electric power utility CEZ announced a BGN 0.5 M investment in infrastructure in the resort village Ribaritsa in the Stara Planina mountains in central Bulgaria.
Ribaritsa, close to the town of Teteven, is a favored place for holidays for well-to-do Bulgarians and offers peace and freshness with its old-timey streets and houses and the green Stara Planina hills around it. It also gives many opportunities for hiking in the higher Stara Planina.
The Ribaritsa investment aimed at...
AES Corp., the U.S. power producer with operations in more than two dozen countries, is keen on constructing in Bulgaria a USD 400 M solar power plant with a capacity of 80 megawatts, the American ambassador in Sofia announced.
“AES has been waiting for six months to go ahead with its investment, which costs nothing to the Bulgarian government,” US Ambassador to Bulgaria, James Warlick, said a joint press conference with representatives of AES Solar Energy.
The ambassador pointed out...
Lufthansa Technik Sofia, a joint venture between Germany’s Lufthansa Technik and the Bulgarian Aviation Group, announced it will invest in the construction of new facilities for aircraft overhaul and maintenance near Sofia Airport.
The company, which has served so far 40 planes of more than 20 airlines in Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa, said it has been flooded by orders and will accept no more by the end of 2011.
Another 35 aircraft will be serviced over the next 17...
The Czech-owned electric power utility CEZ will invest BGN 1 936 000 M in a renovation of the “Metro”subfeeder, which provides electricity to the northwestern region of the Bulgaria's capital.
According to the company, the renovation will increase the safety level and will provide power for the development of new residential and business projects in the area. It will also decrease the number of breakdowns and will cut the repair time by 15 minutes.
“CEZ has always tried to invest...
Bulgaria Translation