Sun, Nov 08 2009
Construction in Studentski Grad (Students' town) borough will come to a complete halt in a matter of several weeks, Monitor daily reported, based on Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov and chief architect Petar Dikov's intentions to issue an ordinance to ban further construction of the area.
It is quite possible that this will be a temporary solution, and, as of now, it not clear when the ordinance would be implemented or how long it would be in effect, Monitor daily said. A random check in Studentski grad done by the newspaper in March revealed that there were close to 60 projects in the works and just as many planned to begin in the near future.
In May, Education Minister Daniel Vulchev called for a complete ban of all construction going in the area, because when the initial idea of Studentski grad was conceived, the place was meant to be a small student community, housed in dormitories.
According to Borissov, as quoted by the Monitor daily, the Sofia City Hall plans to ban construction in other boroughs in Sofia, without revealing which ones. On June 25, the mayor signed the first ever construction ban in Sofia's history, which will be in effect no longer than six months, or until the new city planning strategy is drafted. As of now, all building activities in the Mladost borough will also be frozen until indefinite time, Monitor daily reported.
Everyone who had bought property off plan in Mladost will have to wait until the new development plan for the area is approved, Borissov said, as quoted by the newspaper. Dikov had said that such plans would be ready by the beginning of July, but will be put for voting in the municipal council most likely in October.
Bulgarian Cabinet aims to change the Spatial Planning Act for building regulation, but is likely to spawn more confusion than ever before.
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