Irakli Property Owners Protest In Bulgaria 12/03/2008
Owners of property in the Irakli and Emona coastal regions blocked the Bourgas-Varna road on November 3 in a protest against a construction ban in the two protected regions. Ecology and Water Affairs Minister Djevdet Chakurov imposed the ban, since the two regions hold  some of the last remaining wild beaches in Bulgaria. The ban would remain in force for a period of one year, BGNES news agency reported. Property owners said that the territories that fall under the construction ban have always contained arable land and were never the home of any rare plant or animal species. Plans for construction in the protected regions involved only the setting up of low buildings and the development of elite tourism opportunities, property owners said. Nessebar mayor Nikolai Trifonov... more

Beach Hotels Must Be Demolished, Says Savin Kovachev 15/03/2008
Hotels built on the beach-front, or occupying a part of it, are to be bulldozed, said the regional development deputy minister Savin Kovachev in Varna, Dnevnik daily reports. But this can only be achieved if all relevent bodies do their work properly, he added. First, the Regional Directorate for National Construction Supervision has to acknowledge the illegality of the constructions and issue demolition orders, Kovachev commented. Then the court has to approve the resolution. This would then be followed by a body securing the safe demolition of the hotel in question. Procedures on demolishing such developments started in 2002-2003 but many orders issued are still in court. Kovachev added that the ministry is facing a pile of lawsuits on establishments that partially fall within the... more

Bulgaria Tourism Strategy Calls For New Sector Law 10/03/2008
Anelia Kroushkova, head of Bulgaria's State Agency for Tourism, has asked for a new law on tourism that will put an end to irresponsible and uncontrolled construction in Bulgaria's resorts, Standart daily reported on February 13 2008. Kroushkova wants a working group with the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry to develop new requirements for the density of construction and buildings' height.   She said the ordinance that regulates what is "resort" and "holiday village" and what are the boundaries they could move into, should also be rewritten. New regulations would be applied only for projects that haven't been started yet. Kroushkova presented its strategy for the development of Bulgaria's tourism until 2013 to co-ruling National Movement for... more

Sofias Vuzrazhdane Park To Stay Constructionfree 21/06/2008
Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov said on June 18 that there would not be any building activity in Vuzrazhdane Park while he is city mayor, municipality spokesperson Tsvetanka Krusteva told the Sofia Echo. As previously reported by The Sofia Echo, competing claims over the ownership of a large land plot from Vuzrazhdane Park near Sofia centre have sparked a row on June 6. Councillors from the Socialist party accused municipal company Sofiiski Imoti of selling 2.1 ha of land in the Zona B5 neighbourhood to Sigma Remont, a private company owned by a Seychelles-registered firm. Sofiiski Imoti chief executive Alexander Shopov, who rejected the allegations, said the municipal company never sold the land and that he was at a loss to explain how Sigma Remont acquired the ownership paperwork. The... more

Leasing For Third Stage Of Airport City Belgrade Underway 14/03/2008
Leasing for the third stage of Serbia's first business park, Airport City Belgrade, has started recently, with Colliers International Serbia acting as leasing agent. Four buildings, each featuring 9 500 sq m of Class A office space, have already been constructed. The third stage of construction, featuring two buildings with 11 000 sq m each of office space, will be completed this summer, Colliers said. Airport City Belgrade seeks to provide its tenants a 'City within a City', and received two awards in 2006, one for the best project for office space in Belgrade and the Organisation for Economic Construction and Development award for largest greenfield investment in South East Europe. Colliers International Serbia is the exclusive agent for the first phase of construction... more