Latest Property and Economy news from Bulgaria. News for Visitors and Investors

05.10.2007 Pipeline bourgas-Vlore to pass through Giueshevo

At its regular session Thursday, the Bulgarian government has gone a step further in outlining the route of the Bourgas-Vlore oil pipeline with a resolve that it crosses the Bulgarian-Macedonian border off Giueshevo border checkpoint, the press office of the government announced Thursday.
The trans-Balkan pipeline is part of the pan-European transport-energy corridor eight, a system the Europian Union has granted priority during the past year.
AMBO, the company tipped as operator of the oil pipeline plan, is yet to agree on the starting point of the pipeline. The preferred option for the time being is a small port near the southern resort of Pomorie.
On a related note, work on the other oil pipeline project, to interconnect the port of Bourgas with the Greek port of Alexandroupolis, has reached a stalemate, sources close to the matter announced mediapool.bg.
After the last end-August meeting in the Athens, the parties to the project – Bulgaria, Greece and Russia, agreed in principle to meet in the middle of September. However, no meeting has been scheduled to date.

04.10.2007 193 km of a newly constructed segment of the Trakiya highway between Bulgaria's capital and Bourgas to open

The official opening of a newly constructed segment of the Trakiya highway between the village of Svoboda and Stara Zagora will be held October 5 2007.
The solemnity would start at 12.00 at 193 km from Sofia in the direction of Bourgas, Dnevnik daily quoted the construction company Trace Group Hold.
The highway passes south of Stara Zagora. The opening of the new segment coincides with the feast of the city on October 5.
Expected to attend the official opening ceremony were Prime Minster Sergei Stanishev and Regional Development and Public Works Minister Assen Gagaouzov, Dnevnik announced.

03.10.2007 Property expo to show Bulgaria's property market novelties

More than 100 firms from Bulgaria and the region will take part in the second edition of the real estate and zoning plans expo BalPEx.
A number of new residential developments will be presented during the expo, among which the 22 000 sq m Winslow Gardens plan in Manistirski Livadi residential district and Balnea Hills in Gorna Banya district.
Among the vacation developments to be presented are KIK Mountain Village in Dobrinishte, which embraces 11 two-story houses and a hotel of 20 rooms.
A luxury holiday complex in the coastal town of Pomorie will also be presented. The complex offers 78 apartments of 35 to 100 sq m of area.
Business Town Sofia will be among the developments in focus in the businessproperty sector. The complex spreads has a footprint of 43 000 sq m.
Mall Concord Plaza project to be carried out in Plovdiv will have its debut at the expo.

02.10.2007 Greece gives green light for road to Bulgaria

The Greek supreme court has permit the construction of a road between the Northern Greek town of Komotini and the Bulgarian border.
The court overruled complaints from Komotini citizens and complaints Greek newspaper Ethnos announced.
In the complaints, citizens and environmentalists claimed the road did not comply with the ecological regulations and would lead to ontamination of the region.
The Greek court ruled that the project was harmless to the eco-balance.
Bulgarian news agency BTA reported that the road would connect the Egnatia highway in Greece and Bulgarian border. The plan was included in a Bulgarian-Greek agreement contracted in 1996. In 1998, the two countries signed a protocol for co-operation, which envisions the opening of three new border checkpoints in the region.

01.10.2007 International Monetary Funs mission arrives to Bulgaria on October 4 2007

New mission of the International Monetary Funs (IMF) will arrive in Bulgaria on October 4 2007.
The mission would hold consultations with Bulgarian cabinet and ministry representatives between October 4 and 16 2007, a Finance Ministry press release announced.
The International Monetary Funs mission will meet representatives of the local Cabinet and the Bulgarian National Bank to discuss the execution of the macroeconomic indices and the financial and economic policies in Bulgaria in 2007, Bulgarian news agency BTA announced.
Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski and his team would meet the IMF mission on October 4.
The two teams would discus the main measures of the financial policy, aiming at stable macroeconomic environment and continuance of the structural reforms for stability of economic increased and generating maximum benefits for Bulgaria from its EU membership, BTA announced.

29.09.2007 Albania and Bulgaria to co-ooperate on air navigation services

Albania and Bulgaria would co-operate on air navigation services, Emanuil Radev, director of Air Traffic Services Authority (ATSA) announced on the second day of Transport and Communications Minster Petar Moutafchiev's visit to Tirana.
The two countries were part of an initiative from the European Commission (EC) to unite air navigation services in South-East Europe, Focus news agency announced.
The initiative aimed to diminish losses because of fragmentation in air navigation in the region.
Partners in the initiative were Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Greece, Montenegro, United Nations Mission in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stability Pact for South-East Europe, Eurocontrol and NATO.
The Bulgarian representatives were from the Transport Ministry's Civil Aviation Administration and ATSA.
Bulgaria and Albania would co-operate on staff training.

28.09.2007 Greek construction company will build offices and mall in Bulgaria

Greek construction company Terna said it had been chosen for the construction of a shopping and office mall in Sofia, Forbes.com announced.
The project called Hermes Park Sofia was announced to be worth 122.8 million euro and was expected to be completed by the end of 2009.
The mall would be constructed on a area of about 54 000 sq m, owned by Carrefour Bulgaria and would contains a multifunctional shopping and entertainment centre with an office complex, Forbes reported.
The office complex would comprises of five buildings of various sizes.
Terna announced there would be a three level underground parking and open air parking spaces for visitors

27.09.2007 Properties in Bulgaria costs 30 anual salaries

Almost 30 average Bulgarian yearly salaries are needed to buy an apartment in Bulgaria.
This made Bulgaria one of the most expensive countries in the European Union to buy a house, Dnevnik daily announced. Denmark was the cheapest with only 5.3 average annual salaries.
Real estate website Properazzi made the calculations for Bulgaria based on an annual income of 1884 euro and an average apartment price of 54 570 euro, the newspaper announced.
Britons who complained houses were expensive in the UK and who had been in surprise by prices in Bulgaria only needed nine average annual salaries to buy a home in the UK.

26.09.2007 Scotish company purchases mall in Bulgaria's coastel Varna

Scottish company Miller Developments purchased Mall Varna for 120 million euro, consultancy company Forton International announced.
The sales negotiations lasted more than a year and involved consultants from Forton and Cushman&Wakefield, investor.bg announced.
The construction of the mall itself was undertaked a bit earlier by the investor Interservice Uzunovi.
Gross built-up area of Mall Varna was 70 000 sq m. About half of the mall’s area, 32 000 sq m would be offered for rent. The mall should be opened half a year.
Pavlina Nikova, Forton manager for the project, told that there were already tenants for 26 000 sq m of the area to be rented.
The mall would have a cinema, supermarket, bowling, bookstore and 10 restaurants, she announced.
Miller Group is the biggest private property construction holding in the UK, investor.bg reported.

25.09.2007 Israelis to buy land in Bulgaria for 37 000 000 EURO

Israeli construction and investment company BSR Europe has reached an agreement for the purchase of approximately 80 000 sqm of land in Bulgaria for 37 million euro, the company said.
BSR Europe has partnered for the deal with a European investment fund for real estate. The company decline to name the fund or the exact location of the land, saying these details would be announced separately, investor.bg reported.
On the land a complex with housing, offices and retail areas with a total floor space of 230 000 sq m would be constructed, the company announced.
Israeli publication Globes said BSR Europe would own 42.5 % of the project, which according to in advance calculations would be worth 200 million euro.
BSR Europe had additionally reached an agreement for the purchase of 350 000 sq m of land in Romanian Brashov at a value of 5.1 million euro. Housing complexes with a floor space of 50 000 sq m could be build on the land. Total value of this plan is estimated at 40 million euro.
BSR Europe is the fourth Israeli company to buy land in Brashov in the past few months, Globes announced.
The company ade a speciality of housing complexes, offices and retail centres and has invested in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hongaria, Latvia, Georgia and Spain.
The company intended to increase its portfolio from 1.3 to 2 billion euro over the next few years.
In Bulgaria the company has finished an eight floor office building along boulevard Totleben with 4 300 sq m floor space.
In Lagera neighbourhood it has been building a housing complex named Lagerfield, which contains 630 apartments distributed over 12 buildings. The project would be ready in 2010.

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