Sun, Nov 08 2009
Bansko municipality major Alexander Kravarov has ordered a halt to construction in the famous mountain resort.
The ban covers 28 areas, including the hotel and the villa zones, investor.bg reported.
Construction will remain on hold until detailed zoning plans and street regulations for the areas are completed.
While the ban is in effect, no permits for construction or change in the purpose of the agriculture land would be issued, investor.bg said.
Kravarov's order is subject to appeal within 14 days.
Deputy mayor Lazar Zahov said that the ban affected new construction. "We have to be aware where and what can be constructed and it has to be in conformity with the infrastructure in the region," he said, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA.
Office rent transactions peaked at 65 000 sq m between July and September 2008, but collapsed to 10 700 sq m in Q3 2009, Forton manager Sergei Koinov said.
Most potential buyers are now opting to buy a luxury flat in the range of 120 000 to 150 000 euro or a single family home for about 500 000 euro.
About 30 000 to 35 000 people employed in the construction sector were facing redundancies in 2010, Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister Rossen Plevneliev said on October 26.
Average market prices of housing in Bulgaria dropped five per cent in July-September, measured quarter-on-quarter, the National Statistical Institute said on October 23 2009.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has released a 43.5 million euro loan to Sofia Municipality, for infrastructure projects worth 88.1 million euro in total