Belgian Firm To Invest 120m Euro In Bulgaria Report 17/03/2008
Belgian company Etex Group plans to invest more than 120 million euro in Bulgaria, Pari daily reported on March 17. Initially, the firm will pour 20 million euro in developing a large warehouse for building materials and the next phase envisages the construction of a 100 million euro plant. This week, the company representatives will be hunting for large plots of at least 15 ha in several Bulgarian towns – Sevlievo, Varna, Rousse, veliko Turnovo, Plovdiv and Assenovgrad, the daily claimed. more

Demand For Apartments Shifts To Outskirts 15/03/2008
Demand for residential properties in the outskirts of big cities picked up in 2007, data from Foros real estate company show. Increased demand may be attributed to the small number of properties for sale and the expensive prices in downtown areas as well as to the construction of gated complexes that raises the supply of residential properties in suburbs, Pari daily reported on March 4. Demand for residential properties exceeded supply in 2007, according to Dobromir Ganev, manager of Foros. Buyers are genuinely interested in old residential properties in downtown areas of cities but due to the poor supply are opting for properties in the outskirts, Dobrev said. In Sofia demand is picking up in southeastern residential districts, such as Mladost. The area is close to Business Park... more

Bulgarias Most Preferred Property Purchase Options Ranked 07/03/2008
According to 25 per cent of the property investors in Bulgaria, the purchase of a terrain close to some major city is the most profitable real estate market participation option. Investors purchase such terrains most often for the construction of an office building or trade centre, Novinar newspaper reported. Such types of investment lead in a ranking of the most preferred real estate purchases, according to an Investor.bg survey. Twenty-four per cent of the investors believe agriculture terrains offer good opportunities. At the moment land prices remain relatively high. Prices are expected to go up in the near future. Most of the surveyed investors prefer real estate close to the Black Sea coast line. According to 20 per cent, the purchase of property in Sofia is most profitable.... more

On Time Wins 15year Concession For Bourgas Central Beach 19/03/2008
Bourgas firm On Time won the concession for Central Beach, one of the city's three beaches. The company will manage the seaside stripe for a period of 15 years. According to the contract, the concessionaire will have to invest at least five million euro for the improvement and maintenance of the beach during this period. On Time has a 20-year concession contract for the Northern Beach in Bourgas, as well. The annual concessionaire taxes, which the company has to pay to the regional development and public works ministry amount to 272 000 leva for Central Beach and 253 000 leva for Northern Beach. more

Bulgaria Absorbs Only 23 Per Cent Of Eu Preaccession Infrastructure Funds 14/03/2008
Bulgaria has absorbed about 23 per cent of the funds for infrastructure from EU's pre-accession ISPA programme. According to data published on February 19 by the Ministry of Finance, the total sum for ISPA projects is 1.5 billion euro. However, the EU, international financial institutions and Bulgaria's co-financing budget, have paid only 347 million euro so far. The Finance Ministry data, however, indicates that funds for contractual projects in 2007 have doubled. At the end of January 2007, the funds were only 34 per cent of the total volume of the programme, while the January 2008 report indicates the contracts already cover 70 per cent of ISPA scope. The greatest delay occurs in the water supply sector in Sofia, Sliven, and Kyustendil, for which no contractual funds were... more