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...
Fitch confirmed its credit rating for Bulgaria and characterized the situation in the country as “stable”, announced the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance Thursday.
Fitch Ratings themselves report that Bulgaria's rating stays at F3 for short-term foreign currency, BBB- for long-term foreign currency, and BBB for long-term local currency.
The outlook for the long-term rating of Bulgaria nevertheless also stays "Negative."
Among the main causes Fitch sees for the stability in Bulgaria's...
Sofia, Bucharest and Warsaw are the three most expensive capitals in Europe when measured by the ratio of how much the average resident earns versus the cost of housing, a survey shows.
The average yearly salary in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria is only sufficient to buy a mere one or two square meters in the respective centers of each of the three countries’ capital cities, according to data of the Polish real estate company Home Broker.
With the average yearly salary, a Bulgarian...
"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...
Bulgaria registered once again an inflation of 0.4% on monthly basis in July, after a relatively short period of stability, data published Thursday by the National Statistics Institute (NSI) reveals.
The annual inflation is up 2.4% and was 1.4% in June, 2010.
The higher prices were triggered by cost increase of fuels, electric power, water and gas.
Inflation is up 1.9% since the beginning of the year – January – July, 2010.
If EU standards are used, inflation is even higher –...
A record amount of new commercial space was opened in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2010, according to a report of Forton International, a property advisory company.
A total of 163 000 square meters of new commercial space was inaugurated in April-June 2010, Forton says, currently estimating the total commercial space in the country at 485 000 square meters.
The new commercial space was mostly the result of the opening of new commercial complexes and shopping malls in Sofia, Varna,...
The Navigation Maritime Bulgare company (NAVIBULGAR) is planning to construct at least 6 ships in the ship building yard of MTG-Dolphin PLC in the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Varna.
According to the Bulgarian daily “Pozvanete”, two of the vessels have to be ready by the end of the year. They are part of the six vessels that the company is planning to acquire in 2010.
“It all depends on whether we will manage to find financing or not. For two of them, we are sure we can get credit...
President of the World Bank Robert Zoellick praised the Bulgarian government for successfully tackling the global economic crisis on his official visit to the country Monday.
“I came hear to learn and listen,” said Zoellick, adding that in the situation of heavy economic crisis Bulgaria is doing “not worse than most” and that achieved results are manifest for all to see.
The World Bank president stated that his visit comes at a crucial time for the relations between the...
The prices of real estate in Bulgaria will probably remain at their current level in the next few months, the head of the National Real Estate Association has announced.
At the moment, the average prices for residential properties range between EUR 550 and EUR 1100 per sq.m.
“In the second trimester, the prices for residential properties in Sofia increased by 4-5%, while in Varna and Plovdiv the prices dropped by 2,5-7% in comparison to the first trimester,” said Lachezar Iskrov, head...
The Bulgarian National Bank announced a major sale of EUR 61.5 M worth of state bonds, exceeding more than four times the initially planned amount.
The average profitability of the bonds sold is 3.15%.
Last week the National Bank also scored a BGN 90 M sale, with an initially offered amount of BGN 45 M.
Thus the total amount of state bonds sold for just two weeks is over BGN 200 M.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance plans to auction more issued state...
Norway will give Bulgaria financial support for projects focused mostly on environment and energy efficiency issues.
Bulgaria will receive the EUR 126,6 M in the next four years.
The Norwegian help for Bulgaria is part of a new agreement between the EU and the countries from the so-called European Economic Area (EEA), which include Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The goal is to decrease the social and economic differences in Europe.
In the fall, the Bulgarian government will sign...
The Center for Economic Development has announced its forecast that Bulgaria will overcome the economic crisis at the end of 2010 or at the beginning of 2011 the earliest.
According to the experts' report, announced Monday, the economy of the country has shrunk by 1% in the second trimester, in comparison to the first trimester, when the compression has been 3,6%.
The Center has criticized the macro framework of the state budget, according to which Bulgaria's GDP will grow by 3,6% in the...
The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has set the basic interest rate back to its lowest levels since the index was recorded for the first time in 1991.
From August 1 2010, the basic interest rate has been set at the record low of 0,17%, which is down by 0,01 percentage points compared to the previous month.
The interest rate decrease is part of a continued trend that started at the beginning of last year from levels at 5,17%. The downward movement was reversed in May only for the growth to...
Bulgaria's PM Boyko Borisov and the Minister for Regional Development, Rosen Plevneliev, will make the first groundbreaking of Lot 3 of the Trakiya Highway on Monday.
The whole length of Lot 3, connecting the Bulgarian town of Nova Zagora and the city of Yambol, is 34,3 km. It will include two lanes in each direction.
The executing company is the Greek “Aktor”, which has proposed BGN 133 973 907 for the construction. "Aktor" has also stated that they will not use subcontractors and...
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...
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