Yachts are taking over
August 3rd, 2007
What is common between Marseille, Genoa and Barcelona? The forest of masts in their yacht ports. According to the statistics, in the Mediterranean, there are 3500 yachts 30 meters high and above, not to mention the smaller ones. That means not only money for “parking” the vessels, but also increase in number of wealthy tourists.
At present, Bulgarian seaside towns and complexes are aiming at the yacht business as well. When the Dinevi brothers built a magnificent yacht port near the village of St Vlas (see to the right), the city of Varna decided to transform its active industrial harbour into a yacht port and entertainment area.
The idea is of the local chairman of the municipal council Borislav Gutsanov and has already been named “The Gutsanov project”. The Varna councilors, the branch chamber and the state gave him a green light and the first sod will be turned till the end of this year. The project comprises of two stages – the construction of a new, modern terminal for containers in the lake, below the current unattractive Romany neighbourhood, Maskuda. The port will cover an area of 220 decares near the railway. The depth is 16-18 meters, which will allow big vessels to flit and will make things easier for them as they cannot presently enter the harbour. “We will be able to actually compete with Constanta, where 1,25 million container carriers pass through per annum, which in comparison to the Varna harbour – barely 100 000”, said the chief of the port Capt. Danail Papazov.
In the place of the present freight piers at port Varna-East, an enormous entertainment area will be formed. Instead of docks men, there will be tourists and yachtsmen. The port itself, which covers an area of 347 decares, will be transformed into a yacht one, surrounded by an aquarium, hotel, park zones and many small places of public resort.
The work group – Borislav Gutsanov, the port’s chief Papazov and the chairman of the Bulgarian Maritime Chamber Capt. Veselin Genov have been introduced to the execution of such a project in Genoa and Barcelona.
Jovanni Novi, chief of the port in Genoa, told them: “With the present “Port Antico” (an old industrial harbour turned into a yacht port) we earn more than we used to do with the freight one”. “Pantoons girdle the piers, where hundreds of expensive yachts have flitted, the old stores are turned into luxurious hotels, aquariums, shops and places of public resort. The project there was worth around 500 million euro, for which negotiations with a Japanese bank have commenced. We receive rent amounting to 1000 euro per meter per boat per annum, and additional payment is made for prestigious positions”, is what they say in Genoa.
78% of the population in Varna support the new project.
