In 2009 Sofia municipality is setting aside 22.3 million leva aside towards the city's refurbishment and infrastructure projects. This is the same budget submitted for discussion and re-evaluation last week with deputy Sofia mayor Minko Gerdzhinov.

The list designates 68 priority projects for 2009, 26 for engineering infrastructures and eight for waste management and disposal as well as 34 for transport infrastructure.

The budget foresees 7.6 million leva for the reconstruction and refurbishment of 29 bridges in Sofia, including bridges on blvd Dragan Tsankov and Tintiava street. The aforementioned projects will be undertaken by the firm Most Remont.

Tram railway refurbishment will cost five million leva. Among projects scheduled for 2009 are the renovation of tram tracks on blvd Hristo Botev, Tsar Simeon st, Konstantin Velichkov st, blvd Alexander Stamboliiski, and the entire tunnel en route to the borough of Lyulin.

Streets and boulevards reconstruction, as well as bicycle alley restoration and the creation of new pathways, will account for 10 million leva. New street lighting will require a further 825 000 leva.

A major facelift for waste disposal and water management infrastructure is intended for Manastirski Livadi, Gorna Banya, Busmanci, Gorubliane and Vladaya.

Apart from spending money, Sofia municipality also aims to cash in on privatisations, hoping to generate a total of 10.8 million leva through the sale of municipal parcels and firms, as told by the director of the agency’s supervisory committee from the National Movement for Stability and Progress party (NMSP), Danail Kirov.

"Among items on offer will be the municipal bank, Sofia Properties, Galatea 2000, construction company BKS Centre, and a further 200 minor properties such as public toilets and power distribution points," said Kirov as reported by Dnevnik daily. 

The number of properties on offer has been deliberately kept down due to the economic crunch. This has been responsible for a substantial slump in real estate prices everywhere. Hence proceeds are not expected to be as high as they would have been only a year ago.

Kirov said:  "The municipality is in need of privatisation revenues and so is putting properties up for sale, but with some limits".

Construction company BKS Centre will be sold in March, valued at 5.2 million leva. The company has essentially no assets, only restitution claims.

Sofia municipality expects to also collect proceeds from the parking lot owned by the Metropolitan Hotel as well as buildings, stores and malls belonging to marketplace operators and plots owned by Sofia Properties and Galatea 2000.

"Most of the properties are leftovers from last year. We haven’t been able to sell them because 70 per cent of our auctions have failed to attract any bidders,"  Kirilov told Dnevnik.