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,...
Bulgaria's state authorities are seeking bidders for the concession of the inactive airport in the northwestern city of Vidin, Plamen Stefanov, Vidin District Governor, told Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency).
In an interview for Novinite.com dedicated to the situation of Bulgaria's Northwestern (Severozapaden) Region, which is the EU's poorest region in terms of per capita GDP, Stefanov announced that his administration and the central government are now prepared to grant the Vidin Airport on...
The Bulgarian Cabinet created Wednesday a limited state company for the management of Balchik Airport, following up on plans to transform the idling military facility into an international airport.
The company, with capital of BGN 0.39 M, will be exclusively owned by the state, with the Minister of Transport (at present, Ivailo Moskovski) exercising the state's ownership.
Balchik is located north of Varna, Bulgaria's largest Black Sea city and the site of the country's two seaside...
Russian authorities have confirmed that the country's second-biggest bank VTB plans the acquisition of a majority stake in Bulgaria's cigarette maker Bulgartabac, local media reported.
The bank will most probably resell the holding after winning the tender, Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper hinted by saying that it is not clear exactly who the bank represents.
Austria-registered BT Invest, behind which stands Russia's second-biggest bank VTB, remained the only bidder for the Bulgarian tobacco...
The British company Farans Construction Ltd has sent a letter to the Bulgarian cabinet, stating it is willing to build a new prison in Sofia.
The company, based in Ireland, cited by the Bulgarian daily 24 Chassa (24 Hours), informs it can build two prison complexes for 2 000 inmates in 30 months.
The company has experience if the construction of prisons, public buildings and bridges.
The Bulgarian Justice Ministry announced, as early as November 2009, it was looking for a land plot and...
Japanese company Toshiba intends to continue its investments in the construction of a 10 MW solar park near the Southeastern Bulgarian town of Yambol.
Toshiba representatives have confirmed their commitment during a meeting with Yambol's Mayor, Georgi Slavov, the Bulgarian National Radio has informed.
The photovoltaic park will cost EUR 37.6 M and will be able to provide electricity for 2 000 households.
Instead of owning the solar park, Toshiba plans to sell it to local funds and...
Bulgaria and Romania's economy ministers have discussed two large-scale hydro-energy projects on the Danube, whose future realization is said to harbor great economic potential.
Bulgaria's Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov was received Monday in Bucharest by his counterpart, Romania's Minister of Economy, Commerce, and Business Environment Ion Ariton.
After Traikov and Ariton's meeting, Bulgaria's Economy Ministry has announced that in September 2011, the...
A Spanish company presented in the capital Sofia several large-scale projects for new sports facilities.
The projects are for a new national stadium and two others – one also in Sofia and and one in the second largest city of Plovdiv.
The company has been invited to prepare the design by Bulgarian football legend and now Consul in Spain, Hristo Stoichkov, who was present at the event. Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, Sofia's Chief Architect, Petar Dikov, Regional Minister, Rosen...
P2 Solar, Inc., based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, has announced it has executed an option agreement to develop a 7.3 MW solar power farm in Bulgaria.
The "shovel-ready" project with a 20 year gross revenue of USD 76.5 M is located in southwestern Bulgaria near the Greek border and has land secured, all required permits are in place and a 20 year government power purchase agreement (PPA), is signed, according to P2 Solar.
The company has recently appointed a Bulgarian consultant...
Henk Markerink, CEO of famous Dutch stadium Amsterdam ArenA, will launch the construction of a new national stadium in the Bulgarian capital Sofia together with his team of experts, it was announced Wednesday.
Merkerink met with Bulgarian Sports Minister Svilen Neykov, legendary striker from the 90s Hristo Stoichkov, Dutch Ambassador to Bulgaria Karel van Kesteren, as well as the Balkan country's former Foreign Minister (2001-2005), Solomon Passy.
The new stadium will be raised either in...
The concessionaire of the Bulgarian Black Sea airports Varna and Burgas Fraport Twin Star Airport Management plans to invest BGN 170 M in their modernization in the next 3 years, company CEO Dirk Schusdziara has announced.
Schusdziara has confirmed that Varna Airport will be closed down for unprecedented repairs after the end of the 2011 summer tourist season.
The Varna Airport will be undergoing repairs from October 15, 2011, till February 28, 2012. This is the first time the airport...
Sisecam, Invest, USD, 60, M, More, Glass, Plants,Turkish industrial giant Sisecam is going to invest USD 60 M more in its production facility for household glass in Bulgaria's Targovishte through its subsidiary, Trakiya Glass Bulgaria.
The new investment will expand the existing household glass production line launched in 2005, and will add a second production line in Sisecam's glass factories in Targovishte, which taken together are the largest glass plant in the Balkans.
A total of 200...
Toshiba is going to perform a feasibility study for the construction of a coal-fired thermal power plant in Bulgaria that will feature carbon capture and storage facilities (CCS), the Japanese company has announced, apparently moving closer to a potential massive energy investment.
Toshiba Corp will inspect if a TPP with a carbon capture and storage facility could be built in the Maritsa East complex in southeast Bulgaria, which features a large-scale lignite coal mining complex and three...
Bulgarian-German company BCI OOD is going to invest over EUR 200 M in a photovoltaic park in the Kazanlak Municipality in Central Bulgaria.
The solar power park will be located in three villages in the municipality – Yasenovo, Cherganovo, and Golyamo Dryanovo.
The investment decision has been finalized after the Kazanlak Town Council voted to provide BCI with a construction permit right for 30 years, the Stara Zagora Chamber of Commerce announced.
To enjoy the construction right for...
The Black Sea city of Burgas will feature Bulgaria's first "open-air mall" as the shopping mall project dating back to 2008-2009 will be unfrozen.
"The Strand" shopping mall in Burgas is designed as an open air mall with stores and restaurants arranged around a racetrack 'High Street'.
The EUR 40 M project got its construction permit in 2009 but its construction was put off. Its ground-breaking ceremony is now scheduled for June 29, 2011, announced on Friday ZBS, one of the investors, as...
Bulgarian telecoms operator Vivacom plans to invest BGN 600 M over the next three years to develop its fibre-optic internet network and improve its services, the company said.
Currently the company is the largest ISP in Bulgaria with over 350 thousand ADSL subscribers. According to the company CEO Bernard Moscheni that gives the company a market share of 26-27% in the country.
Vivacom has opted for Fiber to the building technology, or FTTb, which means that the company chose the active...
A waste recycling plant, an investment worth about BGN 50 M, was formally inaugurated at the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna.
The recycling factory of Ecoinvest Assets, a consortium, is located in the village of Ezerovo, 10 km east of Varna, and was opened Saturday by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
It has a built-up area of 16 000 square meters, employs 40 people, and is supposed to function for at least 25 years. It can process 140 000 tons of waste annually.
The Ecoinvest...
The US is going to be once again the biggest investor in Bulgaria in 2011 over continuous American trust in the country, according to US Ambassador in Sofia, James Warlick.
Warlick spoke Tuesday at the conference titled "New Perspectives in the Trade and Economic Relations between the US and Bulgaria," saying Bulgaria must work on becoming an attractive investment location.
According to the diplomat, small and large investors have directed their attention towards Bulgaria, but overall...
Hristo Stoichkov, legendary former Barcelona striker, has come to his native Bulgaria with Spanish businessmen interested in investing in new Bulgarian stadiums.
It is now the Bulgarian state's responsibility to keep their interest alive, Stoichkov stated before journalists in Sofia.
"The investors are as serious in their intentions as (Prime Minister) Boyko Borisov and Sports Minister, Svilen Neykov, " he said. "They will do all they can to build stadiums in Bulgaria, just like those in...
The new Termal Power Plant, TPP, "AES Galabovo" is being launched Friday near the southern Bulgarian city of Stara Zagora.
The project cost is estimated at EUR 1.2 B. The investor is the American energy giant "AES" with its CEO, Peter Lithgow, stating the company is prepared to slate as much funds as needed because the TPP is a strategic facility for Bulgaria.
Initially the first two units will work at 70% of their capacity, while full capacity will be reached at the end of the year. The...
Irish company Island Renewable Energy will build a wind park in the Northern Bulgarian Suhindol municipality.
The project, which may be launched after, wind measurements and a feasibility study, involves a 90-megawatt wind farm with 30 wind turbines valued at EUR 130 M. The investment is to be made by Island Bulgaria Ltd., a subsidiary of the Irish company.
The new wind power park will cover an area 50 decares and is expected to be operational in 2014. Its construction will secure...
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