Sun, Jul 05 2009
Spanish company Ferry Group will invest nearly one billion euro in one real estate and one energy project.
The company focused its investment plans on tourism, real estate and agriculture as the key economy sectors in Bulgaria, head of Ferry Group Manuel Ferry Sanchez said.
The value of each project can reach up to 500 million euro, investor.bg reported.
The real estate project initially included the construction of only a golf course near Sofia region village of Kutina. Planned investment later increased to between 400 to 500 million euro.
Besides the golf course the company plans to develop an entire satellite village, offering apartments, villas and one-family houses. The village will feature a big five-star hotel and sports facilities and will cover an area of nearly 400 000 sq m.
Ferry Group's Green Energy project envisions the cultivation of tree species for obtaining biomass and processing refuse plant products for the production of eco-fuel.
The company will search for suitable terrains for the project near the towns of Vidin, Montana and Lom.
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.