Sat, Jul 04 2009
Plovdiv's architectural studio Arkont-A won the tender called to pick a design for the renovation of the city's central railway station, mediapool.bg reported.
The National Railway Infrastructure Company (NRIC) has said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily, that the investor selected to do the renovation will also be granted building permission for additional construction in the area as compensation.
The architectural project amounts to 150 million euro and envisions building two glass domes with a diameter of 25m, the construction of retail and residential complex as well as complicated infrastructure of underground tunnels connecting Plovdiv's centre with the southern part of the city.
The new buildings will be owned by the investor, NRIC has said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.
Further negotiations with the defense and finance ministries regarding the land plots selected for the new construction are expected to take place within the upcoming six months. The reason is that, currently, the offices of the National Revenue Agency are located on the land plot.
At the same time, according to mediapool.bg, Sofia's central railway station will also undergo renovation, which as of now is estimated at 35 million leva. The project features the construction of a multi-functional building with office and retail spaces as well as a parking lot.
Interest in the Sofia project so far has been expressed from Spanish investor Riofisa, which already has a project in the vicinity of the rail station, in addition to Italian and Austrian developers.
Project's architect said he was inspired by the beautiful, elegant and practical structures in Vienna, which served for the model of his neoclassical architecture.
The project will be financed by the Bulgarian Bank for Development, and the Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas, or Jessica Programme, although the report has so far failed to reveal the total cost of the vast enterprise.
The strategic plan envisages the conservation of the nature "for decades ahead", and it was formulated by a municipal team headed by professor Ivan Nikiforov, backed by Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev.
Once the overhaul and reconstruction of the Sofia–Vidin line is complete, it will cut travel time to three hours, as the train will be able to reach speeds of up to 160 km/h, shortening the journey to three hours.
Marriott however has made it clear that is not interested in investing in construction, but rather to occupy and manage existing buildings. Its strategy is to obtain management contracts.
Investors realise that it’s not viable to have a building remaining empty over the course of a year – so it's better for them to employ more flexibility to offset that loss.