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The contract for the construction of the new Liulin highway would be signed in the Road Executive Agency on August 8, Darik Radio reported. The project will cost 148 million euro. The European Commission grants 75 per cent of the sum. The other 25 will come from Bulgaria.

The attractive jazz festival in Bulgaria's Bansko has reached a spectacular end the past weekend, mixing jazz with exotic ethno sounds.African-American voice Sydney Ellis was the most celebrated star in Sunday night's closing gala, organizers said.
 

British bargain hunters are fuelling a boom in house prices around the world. With relatively few bargains to be found here, tens of thousands are looking abroad to invest in a cheap holiday home or an idyllic spot for retirement, according to a report yesterday. Traditional European hotspots such as France and Spain are not as popular as they were in the 90s, when a continental bolthole was still something of a novelty.

While British media regularly circulate publications as to how dangerous it is to live in Bulgaria, seventy British families have chosen to settle down in the region of Gabrovo in the heart of the Balkan.
Most of them have bought real estates in the villages near the towns of Tryavna, Dryanovo and Sevlievo, officials from the Migration Department of Gabrovo Municipality said yesterday. The subjects of Her Majesty have submitted forty applications for long-term residence visas. They intend to repair the old houses and to bring here more relatives from the UK.

Foreign investors are among the biggest shareholders of Bulgaria's public companies, shows data released by the Bulgarian financial regulator. Towards the end of the first half of 2006, non-residents collectively controlled equity for 4.313 bln levs or 43.51% of the combined market capitalisation of listed corporations. Financial intermediation is also on the radar of foreign investors, attracting 648 mln levs out of total market capitalisation of 2.394 bln levs. Foreign investors also own 27.25% of chemical stocks (including pharmaceuticals) in terms of market capitalisation or 271 mln levs.

Travellers using the airports in Varna and Burgas, major gateways to Bulgaria's Black Sea coastline, can look forward to faster ground services as of next year. In another 2-3 years, the two airports may even have new passenger terminals at a cost of 100 mln euro, additions that will allow them to process up to 6 mln passengers annually.
These are some of the concession contract for the management of the 2 airports signed Sunday with the consortium of Germany's Fraport and local company BM Port.

Austrias EVN, unveiled plans to invest in waste recycling, gas distribution, water services and the purchase and building of power stations in Bulgaria, chair of EVN Bulgarias board, Stefan Szyszkowitz, said.
EVN is already majority owner and operator of electricity distribution companies in Plovdiv and Stara Zagora. Szyszkowitz said the company is weighing opportunities to build waste recycling plants in these two cities.

This country is looking forward to joining the EU, but we're already heading over to Europe's new funky-town, says Adrian Mourby
It wasn't all that long ago that the first secretary would summon apparatchiks in black limousines to his summer residence in Varna. "Oh yes," says Anelia. "We used to say the party is everywhere. We still do - but we're not talking politics anymore!" This is the Varna joke. The people of this noisy seaside town enjoy it, but then they enjoy everything. These days it's the all-night party that rules in Varna. In fact, the place has proved so popular with British holidaymakers since British Airways launched flights here earlier this year, that it has extended its schedule to year-round.

European experts would start the final inspection of Bulgaria’s success in the fight against corruption on August 21.
Interior Minister Roumen Petkov already presented some of the measures his ministry undertook to counter corruption.
Petkov said that 41 Interior Ministry employees were dismissed on charges of corruption.

 Snowshoeing in Eastern EuropeI've become a big fan of Explore trips since my recent Icelandic volcano trek with the budget adventure outfitter. One of my fellow hikers on that trip, Robert Metcalf, put me on the trail of this other Explore gem: a five-day guided snowshoeing adventure in Bulgaria.

With Bulgaria's trackless Rila Mountains as a backdrop, this trip allows you to visit traditional Bulgarian houses, stop at the painted monastery of Rila — a UNESCO World Heritage site — and eases you into snowshoeing with instruction that should take "just a few minutes to master."