News For Bulgarian Estates and Property Market

04
Jul. 2008 More delays for Vidin-Calafat Danube bridge The project to build a second bridge over the Danube River between Vidin in Bulgaria and Calafat in Romania has run into new snags, which may delay its completion, Dnevnik daily reported on July 3.

Rather than change the original design, Bulgaria's Transport Ministry has decided to carry out a new assessment whether the original design of the bridge will be robust enough to withstand the test of time and elements, the daily said.

The company picked to build the bridge and the adjoining infrastructure on the Bulgarian side, Spain's Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), is still around four months behind schedule, but confident that it will meet its deadline to complete the bridge by end-2010, Bulgarian Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev said, as quoted by Dnevnik.

Part of the delay was caused by the slow progress of geological surveys and expropriation of privately-owned land for the needs of the project, but also by the refusal of the project managers, the consortium between French Ingerop and British High-Point Rendel, to accept the Spanish company's design for the bridge.

The project would cost 226 million euro, with nearly two thirds of the funding provided by the European Union: 70 million euro under pre-accession aid programme Ispa and a further 70 million via a loan from the European Investment Bank.

However, with global commodity prices constantly rising, the costs of the project could well turn out higher than initially estimated, Dnevnik said.

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Jun. 2008 Looking for the Exit Those keen on camping and music who are looking for ‘exit’ form the everyday routine may find Novi Sad an interesting option for a summer vacation. It is not that the camping sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, at least those, who still exist, are not an appealing option, but Exit Fest can provide the campers with something more: great live music for every taste.

It claims to be the biggest music festival in South-Eastern Europe and takes place in the picturesque Petrovaradin Fortress in the Serbia’s second largest city, Novi Sad, some 400 km to the north-west of Sofia.

Since its first edition in 2000, Exit Fest had brought to its stages names like Kosheen, Roni Size, David Morales, Asian Dub Foundation, Stereo MC's, Moloko, Massive Attack, Cypress Hill, Brand New Heavies, Timo Maas, Roger Sanchez, Satoshie Tomiie, White Stripes, Garbage, Slayer, Apocalyptica, Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox, Pet Shop Boys, Scissor Sisters, Franz Ferdinand, The Cardigans, The Cult, Billy Idol, Him, Goldie, David Guetta, Hernan Cattaneo, Snoop Dogg, The Prodigy, The Beastie Boys and Robert Plant, among others.

This year’s edition, to be held on six stages on July 10-13, also sounds promising with some 140 bands and performers arriving in Serbia for it. Deep Dish’s Dubfire ans Sharam, Kultur Shock, Manu Chao, Ministry, Sex Pistols and Sven Vath are to perform at Exit Fest 2008. The parties start in the early evenings and finish around 6am on the next morning.

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Jun. 2008 Investment Fund to Achieve Maximum Farming Effectiveness in Bulgaria The Agricultural Investment Fund "Ceres', one of the biggest investors in agricultural lands in Bulgaria has invested BGN 2 M in farming machinery in 2008b and plans to invest at least this amount in 2009, according to the company's pres release Tuesday.

The Investment Fund has the goal to accelerate its farming business, which is located mainly in Northern Bulgaria.

The Fund had purchased four powerful tractors, two 600 and 510 horsepower "Caterpillar Challengers" and two 450 and 541 horsepower "Quadtracs", The new acquisitions bring the company closer to the maximum effective farm production by one of the most important agricultural indexes - the level of mechanization of the farm production.

The new powerful tractors would reduce manual labor and accelerate production while providing the tractors' operators with the best possible working conditions.

The Caterpillar Challenger MT875B holds the world cultivation record - 644 hectares in 24 hours, while Case Quadtrac STX450 and Quadtrac STX535 are the top products of CNH Case New Holland - a leading manufacturer of farm equipment.

The "Ceres" Fund has been created in 2006 and its owned by foreign joint stock companies from the US and Western Europe while 30% of the fund's capital belongs to finance institutions such as Raiffeisen Centrobank, Firebird Management, two funds of the biggest grain traders in the world - Black River Asset Management and Mezzanine Management and to former investment bankers from institutions such as Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank.

22
Jun. 2008 Bulgaria in foreign press: friendly and cheap Bulgaria was becoming increasingly popular destination “for curious Brits”, the Sunday Sun newspaper, which covers the north-east of England, reported.

“Affordable, welcoming and varied in the scale of activities on offer for beach bums, skiers and all types in between, it [Bulgaria] is attracting holiday-makers and investors by the plane-load,” the newspaper said.

Bulgaria had a ‘blooming’ real estate market for holiday property and was a ‘burgeoning golf scene’. While describing her experience at Golden Sands coastal resorts, author Vicky Anderson notes that the prices were “so ludicrously cheap” that she “actually felt guilty”.

“Wherever you go along the coast, fresh fish is available in abundance, in more shapes, sizes and species than a cod- reared Brit could dream of,” the article read.

Some of the biggest names in metal loved to play in the town of Kavarna, the Sunday Sun said, as the town mayor was a “devoted metal-head”.

Bulgaria’s second biggest city, Varna, was an “intriguing (…) mix of ancient and modern. Often our party’s eyes would be drawn to stalls full of historic tat alongside the usual postcards and keyring malarkey, only to find an array of authentic Nazi memorabilia for sale. Pretty odd in itself (...) but especially so when one of the stalls is selling the stuff outside a cathedral! We wondered why anyone would want to try and smuggle an SS death’s head ring through customs and politely moved on, but these curious stalls were to be found everywhere,” the article read.

The five things to do at the Bulgarian coastline were to visit the Sea Garden at Varna; the medieval Aladzha rock monastery, a few kilometres south of Golden Sands; the summer palace and beautiful Botanic Garden of Balchik; to go to neighbouring Kranevo and to the Evksinograd government residence at SS Konstantin and Elena resort.

Useful advise on visiting Bulgaria could also be found at the weekend in the Canadian newspaper The Expositor. “Letting a room in your house to tourists is a common way to make a few bucks so, if you don't have a hotel booking, take a look at the pictures they'll show you. Make sure the place isn't too far out of the way and that you're not sharing the room with a stranger. You'll almost certainly share a bathroom. Don't be afraid to dicker over the price. And be aware that the person may speak better English than he or she is letting on. If you're in the slightest doubt about the situation, walk away,” the newspaper said.

The newspaper agreed on the prices “Bulgaria is easy to get to (though it's less easy to get around once you're here), beautiful, sophisticated and -- for the moment, anyway -- cheap.”

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Jun. 2008 A Thracian tomb unearthed in the Black Sea municipality of Tsarevo Bourgas, on the Black Sea, June 20 (BTA) - A Thracian tomb with
a half-moon dome was unearthed near the village of Brodilovo in
the Black Sea municipality of Tsarevo. Excavations leader
Daniela Agre said that such a Thracian tomb has never been found
before in the southeastern part of the country.

Archaeologists believe that the tomb dates back to the 4th
century B.C and belonged to a ruler of Southeast Thrace,
probably the master of ore mining in the area.

The tomb is made of white soft limestone. It is severely damaged
by treasure-hunters. Having said that, Agre urged for changes
in the legislation to introduce tougher punishment for
treasure-hunters.

In what has remained of the tomb, the archaeologists have found
amphorae, grey Thracian ceramics and an empty grave.

The excavations at the site continue. They are funded by the
Tsarevo municipality.

Agre hopes that they will find more artefacts to contribute them
to the collection of the museum which is being built in
Tsarevo. BTA