An investment totalling hundreds of millions of euro is on its way to the area surrounding central railway station in Sofia to transform it from its current shabby state – littered with insalubrious coffee shops and food joints – into a modern and chic shopping centre and administrative hub for Sofians.

The plans for the massive transformation will take several years – from the current stage of contracts and blueprints for malls, multi-storey parking lots and administrative and office buildings as well as infrastructure overhaul – through to completion, Trud daily reports.

Several spacious and enticing parcels of land surround the central railway station but, until recently, the National Company Railway Infrastructure (NCRI) – which owns some of the largest plots – was reluctant to allow them to be developed. However, the municipality and NCRI  have finally arrived at a consensus to get works moving.

Next to the train station, an eight-storey parking lot with capacity for 1000 cars and two underground levels will be built. This will be directly connected to the rail station. But the really massive project will be adjacent to the railway station where two skyscrapers are set to be built that will also be linked underground with the train station, encompassing a total area of 55 000 sq m. 

Hristo Aleksiev, deputy general director of NCRI , said that "for our company, the permission to finally start building here is very appetising. We hope that the future investor in the area will commit the resources to make a thorough refurbishment and renovation of the central railway station, which is currently valued at 35 million leva".