Buy & Sell Bulgaria Insight Newsletter

The initial project for a new General Town Plan (GTP) of Varna was approved by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Asen Gagauzov, and admitted to public discussions and consultations during the joint working conference of the National Expert Counsel for Territorial Structure (NECTS) and the Municipal Expert Counsel for Territorial Structure (MECTS), which began yesterday, announced a reporter from radio Focus, Varna. The participants at the meeting accepted the generalized stand, proposed by the Director of Territorial Structure and Projects Department of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW), Lidia Stankova, that the major part of the proposals and the notes to the project have been reflected, it is stabilized and the procedures for public discussions and consultations for the GTP and the ecological assessment of the project can be revealed with the shortest possible delay. The working group agreed that the additional notes and propositions put forward during the 2-days conference, will be submitted to the designers and they must be reflected in the final version of the project, along with the opinions and recommendations which will arise during the discussions and consultations. The decision was made on the basis of all standpoints covered at the conference by experts from NECTS and MECTS, Varna, the regional associations of the Chambers of Architects and Engineers, from regional municipalities and independent appraisers. Lidia Stankova generalized that according to all raised opinions the acceleration of the procedures for public discussions and consultations, as well as procedures for adopting the project will have a stabilizing effect and will be to the benefit of the local public.

The working group also agreed that a proposition for the signing of the prepared scheme for combining procedures provided in each of the four laws concerning the admittance of the GTP project, should be directed to the Mayor and the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works.

The initial GTP project should be admitted by the end of the year at the earliest. This became obvious at the conference. The launching of the procedures will be announced in a ten-day-period from signing the conference protocol. However, experts commented upon the possibility that terms may be lengthened due to the fact that during the consultations and discussions negative standpoints may occur, which will lead to amendments being made to the project. According to the Team Leader of the department working on the ecological assessment of the GTP, Ljudmil Ikonomov, discussions may be prolonged in case they are carried out with the intervention of additional methods acknowledged by the European Union as reputable practices, which would legally stabilize the project.