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Tserovski decides seaside construction
Sofia Echo Com, Ivan Vatahov, 05.02.2005
A recent decision by the Government, which puts more power in the hands of Regional Development and Public Works Minister Valentin Tserovski to deal with seaside and mountain resorts, is causing serious tension between the central administration and local authorities. The resorts Albena, Zlatni Pyasutsi (Golden Sands), Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach), St Constantine and Elena, International Youth Center in Primorsko, Pamporovo, Borovets and the holiday villages Elenite and Dyuni were declared resorts of national significance by the Cabinet. With a view to this new status, it is only Tserovski who can issue a permit for the implementation of the resorts’ territorial development plans and only he and his ministry will allow construction of new hotels in the major Bulgarian resorts, under the decision. Currently, the local authorities, namely the mayors, grant building permissions for the resorts. Naturally, the mayors oppose the new arrangement. One of their official concerns, after the fact that they will be deprived of a certain independence, is that the height and density of buildings in the resorts will be significantly limited under the Regional Development Ministry project. Currently, the built-in area in a property of 0.1 ha should not exceed 500 square meters, which means a density of 50 per cent or a five-floor building with area of 300 square meters per floor. However, the “Tserovski initiative” is not the only bitter pill for the resort operators. The construction works along the Black Sea coast might be restricted for several years because of another reason. This will happen if Parliament adopts the new Water Bill, which was approved by Government on January 27. It envisages a ban on construction permits in cases when a local water treatment plant has exhausted its capacity. Almost all water treatment facilities at the seaside – except for those in Varna and Bourgas – are working at full capacity. The situation is most dramatic in Slunchev Bryag. The resort and the neighbouring villages produce much more waste waters than the water treatment station in the village of Ravda can purify. The new act is to be enforced in 2007. If by that time new water treatment facilities are not ready, a construction permit will be given only to those who ensure an installation for water filtering and purification. By 2015 all towns and villages with more than 2000 inhabitants should have waste water treatment plants and sewage systems. In the words of Rossitsa Petrova, expert with the Ministry of Environment and Water, some 430 towns and villages with more than 2000 inhabitants do not have waste water treatment facilities. Some of them have partially constructed sewage systems while others do not have any at all. The funds for the achievement of these goals will be collected from the fees for water usage. Projects for larger waste water treatment plants will apply for financing under the EU ISPA programme and later under the structural and cohesion funds of the Union. see source
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