The western Bulgarian city of Kyustendil was voted "Most dynamically Developing SPA destination" at the second edition of the annual "Spa Nominations" ceremony.
The event was held at the Kempinski-Zografski hotel in Sofia.
In 2010, the town of Sandanski was declared "Best SPA destination" in the country, after Velingrad withdrew from the competition in a bid to stimulate other towns famous for their mineral springs.
"This is good news that has not happened for 30 years in Kyustendil",...
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...
Bulgaria's exports of protein-rich agricultural produce such as meat and milk is growing, according to Deputy Agriculture Minister Tsvetan Dimitrov.
Speaking on Monday, Dimitrov reiterated Ministry data showing that 17% of the Bulgaria's exports in 2010 came from agricultural products, and that it grew by 20% in 2010 year-on-year.
Bulgaria's foreign trade in agricultural products registered a positive balance of USD 1 B in 2010, he said in the northern town of Troyan at a conference on...
Greek investors are considering launching a direct air line between the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv and the Greek town of Kavala on the Aegean Sea coast.
The idea for the Plovdiv-Kavala line has been discussed for several months and was confirmed over the weekend during an aviation show in Kavala, the Maritsa newspaper reported.
By setting up a direct air line, Greek businesspeople are said to be aiming at increasing the number of Bulgarian tourists from Plovdiv.
The Greek project is...
In May 2011, Bulgaria registered its lowest monthly unemployment rate since November 2009, according to official data from the State Employment Agency.
Thus, formal figures indicated that in May 2011, Bulgaria's unemployment rate was 8.87%, which is 0.42 pp lower than in April, and the first time since October 2010 when the unemployment is below 9%. The previous lower monthly unemployment figure was recorded back in November 2009 when it was 8.66%.
A total of 328 533 persons were...
Bulgaria's Constitutional Court declared the transfer of deposits in private retirement funds to the National Social Security Institute (NOI) anti-constitutional.
The rule dates from May 31, and is published on the Court's official internet page.
The revoked paragraph 4a from the Social Security Code stated that "funds from individual accounts existing by January 1, 2011, of females born between 01.01.1955 and 12.31.1959, and males born between 1.1.1952 and 12.31.1959, which until...
Bulgaria's draft Waste Management Act, which is supposed to prevent rampant metal theft, has come under vigorous fire by the Bulgarian Recycling Association.
The new law will force 1 000 SMEs into bankruptcy, which have acquired unlimited licenses for trading with ferrous and non-ferrous metals, costing the economy 14 000 jobs, according to the Bulgarian Recycling Association.
The draft act stipulates that depots for the purchase of scrap can be located only on municipal grounds within...
Gazprom will start construction of the South Stream gas pipeline to pump natural gas to Europe along the bed of the Black Sea with two parallel legs, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said on Monday.
"We plan to build two pipeline legs with a capacity of 15.5 billion cubic meters each; they will be built in parallel," Miller said, as cited by RIA Novosti.
The South Stream pipeline is intended to transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to central and southern Europe, diversifying...
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...
Bulgaria's Bulgaria Air airline has been officially included in Embraer's portfolio of E-Jets costumers.
Under a new agreement with a leasing company, the Bulgarian air carrier will will operate three Embraer 190 jets from Sofia.
"It's wonderful to have another customer endorsing our E-Jets philosophy in this region of Europe," said Paulo Cйsar de Souza e Silva, Embraer President, Commercial Aviation, as cited by charterx.com on Friday. "E-Jets are already flying with airlines in...
A whole array of senior government officials have given the start of the rehabilitation of the road between the Northern Bulgarian cities Pleven and Lovech, its first repairs in 26 years.
The road infrastructure project was opened by Deputy PM and Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, a native of Lovech, Regional Development Minister Rosen Plevneliev, and Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva, who is herself a native of Pleven, among other officials.
"I will not tire of repeating that Northern...
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...
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...
Serbia is hurrying to build a highway to the Bulgarian border before the completion of the second Bulgarian bridge on the Danube, according to Serbian Transport Minister Milutin Mrkonjic.
In 2010-2011, Bulgaria and Serbia have stressed the need to complete the construction of the Sofia-Nis Highway, with Bulgaria taking steps to construct the 70-km section from Sofia to Kalotina on the Serbian border. The route is part of the so called Pan-European Transport Corridor No. 10 from Istanbul to...
Bulgaria will launch exploratory work in the Black Sea to set the route of the future South Stream gas pipeline, announced Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov after a meeting in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"Naturally, we discussed major strategic projects like South Stream", Mladenov declared, adding that he had filed a document to the Bulgarian Council of Ministers permitting the start of exploration activities in Bulgaria's Black Sea region.
The South Stream gas...
Bulgaria will need to invest over BGN 100 M in the extension of the life of the two operational 1000-MW reactors of the Kozloduy nuclear power plant, according to its CEO Kostadin Dimitrov.
Speaking at the Bulatom energy forum in Varna Thursday, Dimitrov said the technical surveying of the two reactors will last 18-24 months. It is expected to provide answers on how to go about extending the life of Units 5 and 6 of the only Bulgarian NPP, whose 440-MW Units 1-4 were shut down in 2002-2006...
Bulgaria registered a monthly surplus of BGN 190.5 M in April 2011, the second month in a row with a positive balance, the Finance Ministry announced.
The April surplus appears to have resulted from the contribution of BGN 200.9 M of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) to the state budget, which is a leftover from BNB's 2010 surplus. Meanwhile, Bulgaria's fiscal reserve appears to have been depleted further.
In March 2011, Bulgaria's budget registered a surplus of only BGN 8 M.
In the...
Biodiesel consumption in Bulgaria registered a staggering increase in 2010 amounting to 38 911, 13 tons, according to preliminary information from the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
Biodiesel consumption in the previous two years came in at 4260 tons and 6566 tons, respectively, following a report prepared by Traicho Traikov, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, on the implementation of national indicative targets for the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels in the...
The Bulgarian Parliament has adopted the country's much-anticipated Energy Strategy by 2020, which emphasizes energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.
The document was approved with 79 votes in favor and 27 votes against, without any abstentions, with only 106 out of 240 MPs in attendance despite its importance.
The document lists the following priorities: guaranteeing the security of energy supplies, the introduction of new and the development of existing mechanisms for boosting...
Data on Bulgaria's banking system as of April 30, 2011, has indicated no negative change in its financial stability, according to the latest report of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).
April has marked the highest monthly growth of corporate lending in Bulgaria since the beginning of 2011.
BNB data shows that the liquid asset ratio, as calculated under BNB Ordinance 11, preserved its high level at 23.70%.
"The liquidity position of individual credit institutions remained adequate....
Bulgaria Translation