News - Archive

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Mar. 2008 Bulgaria will enjoy warm weather in April
The temperatures in Bulgaria in April will reach 27C to delight the people, who are eagerly expecting a warm spell after the long winter and the late snowfalls and current cool weather.

The mercury will zoom up most in the period April 10 - 20 but rains are also expected to fall over the country at that time.

The average temperatures in the plain parts of Bulgaria will be set at 13C while the Black Sea coast is to see values of 9C to 11C.

The cold spell will be back at the end of the month - between April 24 and April 28.

Frosts that still cover some parts of the country will melt in the second half of the month, meteorologists forecasted.

There is nothing better then the nice weather.
30
Mar. 2008 Burgas welcomes First Batch of Tourist for 2008 The airport in the Black sea city of Burgas expects to welcome on Sunday with an official ceremony the first group of foreign tourists for the new season aboard a low-cost Sterling airlines plane.

The passengers will take off from the airport in Copenhagen and after landing in Burgas will be transported to the Sunny Beach resort.

The airports in Bulgaria's Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas processed more than 3,4 million passengers last year, shows data of German firm Fraport, who owns a 35-year concession for the two airports.

The Burgas airport processed a record-high 1,95 million passengers, a 7,3 % increase compared to 2006, while Varna's 1,5 million passengers meant a 2,6% drop over last year.

Fraport's two Bulgarian international airports accounted for 4,4% of its total 75,6 million passengers processed by the company last year, with the Frankfurt international airport alone serving 54,1 million.

Fraport and Bulgarian firm BM Star won the 35 years concession in 2006, pledging to invest EUR 403 M in new terminals, expansion and equipment over that period.
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Mar. 2008 Bulgaria will receive additional funds from the EU Bulgaria will be able to receive additional funds from the EU before 2013 outside the already approved operational programs, announced the Bulgarian National Radio.

The funds will come from a new grant program of the European Commission called "Transnational Program for Cooperation for Southeast Europe".

It aims to accelerate the socio-economic integration of specific regions in 16 countries, some of which are EU members, and some aspiring to be.

Almost EUR 207 M have been allocated for the new program from the EU budget. The grants will be awarded to joint trans-border projects dealing with environmental protection, the improvement of transportation and communication connections, development of entrepreneurship, and the application of new technologies.
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Mar. 2008 A new Law for the Trade Register came into force in Bulgaria A new Law for the Trade Register came into force on 1.01.2008. This Law refers to the registration of new business companies in Bulgaria as well as registrations of all existing companies in the new online trade register. According to this new Law, all existing companies must be registered in the new register by 31.12.2010 if not they will be removed from the register of companies in Bulgaria resulting in loss of their assets (properties for example).
The new trade register is hosted by the Registration Agency and is planned as a unified data base of all companies in Bulgaria and their details, which will be publicly accessible and centralized. This is a needed and helpful change in the administration and the results will be seen soon.
However, there is a complication that the Law makes for the registration of companies. The complication is that all existing companies need to submit their tax declarations for previous years to the new online register by 30.06.2008. This means that the companies need to first be registered there, so that their declarations are submitted on time. This actually is a contradiction to the term of 3 years and the Law reduces this term to 6 months for the majority of the companies. It is expected that this law will change soon but if it doesn’t, there will be fines for not submitting declarations by 30.06.2008.
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Mar. 2008 Phare will pour 4M leva into a village for fishermen near the Bulgarian Balchik About four million leva is needed for the development of a fisherman’s village in Balchik, municipality officials said upon emerging from a meeting with local fishermen, representatives of the sea club, municipal councillors and the mayor’s team on discussing the project.

The future development will be financed through the Phare programme and will be realised with the joint efforts of a consultancy company and the municipality.

Participants in the meeting agreed on the village’s location – between the holandski plazh and the purification plant that is currently under construction.

Apart from boat berths, the project envisages the construction of fish-storage chambers and service rooms for the fishermen. The nearby quay, which will secure moorage for larger vessels, will be extended and remodelled into a wharf, municipality representatives said.

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Mar. 2008 Biggest traiding fair for architecture, building and furnishing in Bulgaria opens door The 30th edition of Stroiko 2000 exhibition will open doors on March 26 at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia and will run until April 1. Stroiko 2000 is the biggest trading fair for architecture, building and furnishing in Bulgaria.
The exhibition area covers 5 000 square meters at the building of NDK in Sofia. Every year there are around 700 companies, presenting а wide range of products and services - from research and development to the miniature interior design elements, both made in Bulgaria and imported ones.
The fair helps both consumers and building companies to get acknowledge in the variety of new technologies and products.
The event will feature end-use products, such as furniture, home textiles and accessories, as well as products used during construction - building materials, chemicals, insulations, framings, hi-tech facades, electric, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning equipment and etc.
The official opening is on March 26 at 11 a.m. in central lounge of NDK. Entrance is free of charge
24
Mar. 2008 Israeli multi-porpose project again in Bulgaria Roslin Park, the first residential project of Israeli-based Pritzker Group in Bulgaria, will be situated in Sofia’s Lyulin neighbourhood, at the junction of Petar Dertliev Blvd and Pancho Vladigerov Str, consisting of 28 eight-storey apartment buildings with a total built-up area of 65 000 sq m, which will spread on a land plot of 30 000 sq m.
The plot was acquired between 2004 and 2006, the company told The Sofia Echo.
The project will total 550 apartments with sizes varying from 60 to 220 sq m and prices hovering in the 735-880 euro a sq m price range.
Roslin Park will be a semi-gated compound, offering 24-hour security services and video monitoring, a fitness hall, sauna, kindergarten, beauty parlour, supermarket and a number of shops. A large chunk of the space has been allocated for green areas.
The first phase of the project, which comprises eight residential buildings with a total of 150 apartments, is scheduled for completion in May 2009. About 85-90 of these units have already been sold to residents from Lyulin and the nearby neighbourhoods.
Itzhak Pritzker represents the investor in the project, IP Bulgaria 2005 Ltd. The construction company is AT Engineering 2000, architectural design was done by Atanas Panov, and financing has been secured through a loan from United Bulgarian Bank (UBB).
The Pritzker group of companies is an international company that started in the construction of residential apartments in 1961. Over the years, the company has strengthened its position as one of the biggest and most respected developers in Israel, having erected thousands of housing units, some of the expensive and luxurious shopping centres, office buildings and residential compounds in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.
It has expanded its activity, going beyond the boundaries of Israel and, since 1985, has invested in property in locations like New York, Connecticut, Hungary, Croatia and Latvia. It has recently started large-scale investment in Russia and Romania and it landed on the Bulgarian real estate market through the Roslin Park complex.
Currently the company is owned and managed by Itzhak Pritzker, a second generation member of the family.
This is not the first residential investment aimed at middle and lower-middle consumers by an Israeli company in a residential development in Sofia’s western neighbourhoods.
Tivon Properties, a subsidiary of leading Israeli developer Stern, is the investor in City Park Residence, a complex to be located in the southwestern part of Sofia at the corner of Tzar Simeon Str. and Zografski Manastir Str., comprising class A residential, office and retail space, due to open at the end of 2009.
The architectural plan was elaborated by Atelier Serafimov Architects Ltd, with Glavbolgarstroy Jsc as the contractor. UBB will once again finance the project and Orvitex Ltd. is the manager and exclusive agent of City Park Residence.
Investment should come to 25 million euro, including the purchase of the 0.5 ha land plot, and the total built-up area will be 30 000 sq m - 6 000 of which will be allocated to office space and 3 500 sq m to retail units. Residential units will sell at 1100-1200 euro a sq m, office areas will trade at 1500-1600 euro, and retail outlet prices will be negotiable, fluctuating between 2 000 and 3 000 euro a sq m.
And given that Israeli investors are traditionally known for their shrewd and savvy investments, and banks consider them as very reliable borrowers, it might be assumed that such multifunctional developments in this region, commanding reasonable prices, will prove profitable.
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Mar. 2008 The mayor of Sofia discusses new Sofia land, Eurppean Valleyball championship and Winter Olympics The mayor of Sofia Boyko Borissov and the head of the State Agency for Youth and Sports (SAYS) Vessela Lecheva discussed the construction of new amusement and sports complexes in Sofia, Bulgarian newspaper daily Standart reported on March 20.
A new amusement park, similar to the former Sofialand, will open doors near Sofia’s Zapaden Park (West park), the capital’s chief architect Petar Dikov said from Standart.
Sofia city hall will invite a concession for the garden near Zapaden Park in the next months. The place is very suitable for a new amusement park, because there is no car traffic nearby, said Dikov.
However, he admitted that no one has expressed an interest in the project so far, but he was positive that candidates would soon appear.
Ilinden mayor Roumyana Doichinova, though, said that she did not have a clue about the contemplated enterprise on the premises of her municipality.
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Mar. 2008 Rental Prices in Sofia 4-6% up The rental prices for two- rooms apartment in Sofia rose by an average of four per cent in the first quarter of 2008, while three-room flats in prime locations posted a 6.7 per cent mark-up in the same period, according to a recent report of the local think-tank Industry Watch.
Despite the recorded growth in residential rents, their rise still lags behind the growth in sale prices and the flat’s repayment period (sale price/rent price ratio) has been extended from 188 to 234 months on average, according to the survey.
Industry Watch analysts have observed a certain decline in the interest in residential and holiday real estate. Business space – offices and warehouses, on the other hand, are gaining ground.

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Mar. 2008 We eclipsed Greece and Turkey in Moscow the Bulgaria Tourism Boss said Bulgaria's stand in the tourism exhibition in Russia's capital Moscow overshadowed the Turkish and the Greek stands, in the words of the Chair of Bulgarian State Agency for Tourism Aneliya Krushkova, quoted by the Bulgarian National Radio.

Thirty Bulgarian tourist firms are represented at the Inturmarket 2008 exhibition in Moscow.

"Bulgaria's stand is very large, beautiful, and sunny", Krushkova said adding that it had one of the best locations at the fair, close to the entrance of the exhibition hall.

The stand was opened on Sunday in the presence of the Russian Deputy PM Sergey Narishkin, the Minister of Tourism, and the Deputy-Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Bulgarian firms met with representative of Russian tourist operators, who put forth several specific issues, including the issuing of Bulgarian visas for Russian tourists.

The Russian companies also pointed to the lack of enough flights to Bulgaria for those Russians who would like to make their vacation there.

The program of the Bulgarian stand at the exhibition includes also presentations of the spa and wellness tourism in Bulgaria. It provides special cosmetic treatment for those willing to give it a try.