News

  The building-investment programme of Razlog municipality for the year 2007 is with nearly BGN 2 million more expensive than last year’s one. The team of the mayor – Engineer Lyuben Tatarski offers nearly BGN 14 million to the Town Council. The greatest sum – nearly BGN 10 million is envisaged for the “Long-lasting material assets” sector – said Engineer Vasil Astinov, building deputy mayor. That sum will be invested in the construction and renovation of a basic technical infrastructure – water-main and sewerage in Razlog and all villages of the Municipality that are object of growing investment interest.

  Special building machines and medical equipment are to be bought, as well as cars for social homes service, parking equipment to be and others.

  More than BGN 3 million is invested in fundamental repair works of social buildings, schools, parking zones, as well as for the construction of sidewalks and new streets. Nearly BGN 800 thousand is the amount only in the town and the villages. The total length of the street network in the Municipality is nearly 30 kilometers and more that 60% of it is being renovated during the last 2 or 3 years. Nearly BGN 500 thousand are envisaged for the development of designs for different sites – roads, water mains, collectors, cadastral maps, detailed organizational plans.

  Forty Belgian families will settle in Varna. They have purchased apartments-to-be-built in a residential complex that will be constructed in proximity of the covered swimming pool above “Chaika” quarter.

  The newest investment in Varna building will be completed in a 24 months’ term – said Velichko Todorov yesterday. He is a representative of the Bulgarian-Belgian company “Varbel”. The construction works started last week and on that occasion, the Ambassador of Belgium arrived in Bulgaria, as well as a business delegation from the kingdom and the majority proprietor of the company

  “Glavbulgarstroy” will buy the shares of “Contract 99” in “Rila Samokov 2004”. Thus the biggest construction company will construct the “Super Borovets” project.

   "Contract 99” is owned by the family of the late banker Emil Kulev. They own 55% of the “Super Borovets” project. Until now “Glavulgarstroy” owned 25% and the municipal has 20%.

  The dimension of the transaction is still unknown. Unofficial data shows that the amount is between 25 and 30 million BGN.

  "Super Borovets is one of the biggest investment projects in the country which will have huge impact on the tourism in the country and Samokov municipal. The locals expect it to bring more opportunities for business and development. Samokov Municipal and Glavbulgarstroy went a long way during the last years for the development of the project and we strongly believe in its future", said Simeon Peshov, president of Glavbulgarstroy.

   Bulgaria was at the third place of rise of residences in Europe in 2006 although the growth of their prices was vastly delayed comparing to the preceding 24 months. Poland and Denmark are before our country according to their place of prices of properties and Estonia is after Bulgaria according to the same criterion, shows a research of the most competent British organization of experts in the field of real estates – the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors /RICS/.

  According to the review of the European residential markets, annually made by the organization, the prices of properties in Bulgaria have increased by approximately 20% in comparison to 22% in Denmark and 33% in Poland.

  However, this growth is different from the increase of less than 15% in the average annual prices in 2006, reported by the National Statistical Institute. This growth was the fastest in the last three months of the year when the values of the average apartments in the big Bulgarian towns increased by 17% on the annual basis up to BGN 904 per square meter. According to one of the leading Bulgarian agencies, the prices have increased by approximately 15% during the year, before the admission of Bulgaria to the European Union. The large growth in the recent months of the year was explained by the Bulgarian experts with the security connected with the membership in the EU, which stimulates larger demand.

   Over the period of one week, two British print media published articles saying that Bulgaria’s real estate sector was among the most attractive in Europe.

  On February 7, the Guardian reported that Bulgaria, together with Poland, Estonia and Denmark, was among the European Union countries with a steady increase in property prices in 2006. The Guardian quoted a survey done by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which analysed price growth in 26 European countries.

  On February 5, the magazine A Place in the Sun reported that Bulgaria was the third most-popular country for investments in real estate in Europe. Bulgaria was outranked only by Spain and France. Well-established locations started to lose their market share at the expense of new destinations like Bulgaria, Dubai and Cape Verde. In such untrodden locations, prices for real estate were much lower, especially given the rising prices and interest rates in Great Britain, the magazine said. Turkey, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal were also among the top 10. However, as a result of the oversupply of real estate in some parts of Bulgaria, prices in this country would probably remain relatively low, the magazine said.

  The town council of Pomorie took a decision to sell real estate properties through a non-attendance auction. The plots comprise of land owned by the municipality located in the area of Luka village and the minimal auction price appointed for them is 550 BGN for one decare. The winner of the auction will be obliged to build a golf complex with buildings for permanent or holiday occupation.

  The appointed investor will also be obliged, at his expense, to organize the infrastructure of the region, to develop a project for a detailed territory plan of the plots subject of the auction and to invest the sum of 10 (ten) million Euros over a three-year period after the issuing of the Building License.

  The plots for sale include the following numbers: 1149, 1150, 12013, 12016, 12015, 12022, 12014, 2026, 2028, 2036, 2033, 2004, 2043, 3088, 2051 (all in the area of Luka village), as well as numbers 18509, 511 and 2051 (all based in the area of Kableshkovo village).
The decision taken was of principle, and on the grounds of this decision, an evaluation of the plots was organized and a work group was formed, which prepared the specific auction conditions.

  For the second consecutive year the biggest investment program in the region of Blagoevgrad is in Bansko. The Municipal Council approved a budget of BGN 19 million, which is the amount absorbed in the preceding year. The biggest amount of money of BGN 12.780 million is for urbanization. The main part of the money to the amount of BGN 12 million will be invested into sites in Bansko. The rest of the money to the amount of BGN 780 000 are allocated among the town of Dobrinishte and the six villages, which are also a subject to investment interest – Kremen, Obidim, Osenovo, Gostun, Filipovo and Mesta.

  The impressive amount of BGN 4 million is for street asphalting and reconstruction. The amount of BGN 1.78 million will be paid for making new pavements of 49 streets. There is also a serious amount of money for planning, namely a total amount of BGN 1.612 million. A General Structure Plan of the territory of Bansko is to be worked out to the amount of BGN 120 000, of a work project for a Waste Water Treatment Plant amounting to BGN 400 000, projects for a scenic highway from Bansko to the locality of Sanchevoto, on the way to the locality of Rakovitsa, on “Iztok” encircling road, fourth-class roads, of a work projects for dams in the localities of Kosherinata, St. Iliya, of work projects for sport grounds.

  The building of the third golf complex of “BalkanStroy” AD in the region of Bansko will start in the beginning of 2008 and will last for a period of three years, said Nikolay Kaloyanov, an Executive Director of the building company at the receiving the Certificate of a First Grade Investor for the Project. There is an ongoing procedure at the moment for approving the General Structure Plan and we expect to complete the process of documentation preparation, added Kaloyanov.

  The complex will include a golf ground, a hotel with a SPA centre, a horse base, a sport centre, trade and serving complexes and bungalows.

  “Pirin Golf and Country Club” will be situated just next to the other two projects of “BalkanStroy” AD within the region, namely “Kulinoto” Ski and Golf Complex in the region of the same name situated near Razlog, for which the company received its first Certificate of a First Grade Investor, and “Pirin Golf Holidays Club” Golf Complex under construction. The terrain of the golf ground includes a small part of the forest fund, which is destroyed as a result of poachers’ attacks and will be cleared. There is also a plan for planting certain terrains near the complex, said the Executive Director of “BalkanStroy”.

   “Hilltop” – the first demonstration hotel for eco-innovations in South Eastern Europe will be built in the village of Zdravkovets, Gabrovo region. “Hilltop” will comprise accommodations for 68 persons, a restaurant section, two conference and one multi-functional halls for meetings, workshops and conferences. The investment needed for the construction of the hotel amounts to BGN 2 million. “Hilltop” will have innovative technologies, which are already being offered on the Bulgarian market: solar collectors for hot water, heat pumps, wind turbine, purification stations for waste waters.

  Still, new for our country remain the solar reflex illuminating pipe, the Thromb wall, the collecting of rainwater in an underground cistern for irrigation and sanitary needs.

  Experts have calculated that the application of one of those innovations would make the construction up to 10-15% more expensive and it could be paid off for nearly three years. However, the construction would become more expensive in case that all those technologies are applied, and that is why more serious support by investors and partners would be necessary for the project’s implementation

  Home prices in Bulgaria's regional centers have increased 1.5 to 3 times over the last five years. That emerged Wednesday as the country okayed a new tax scheme, which will also affect home taxation.

According to the fresh rules, real estates with a tax evaluation of less than BGN 1,400 (approximately EUR 700) will not be subject to taxation.

  The maximum taxation-free income was increased from BGN 130 to BGN 180.

  A new levying scheme for incomes has also been approved.
Incomes have been divided into three groups - BGN 180-250; BGN 250-600; and a third group of over BGN 600 - which will determine what taxes will be imposed.