Daniel Panov at the annual meeting of the NSORB: There is a need to change several laws in order for the transition to changing the garbage fee to go smoothly
Over 80% of applications for municipal projects have signed agreements. There is no delay in the implementation of the investment program. This was stated by the Minister of Regional Development, Violeta Koritarova, to the participants of the annual meeting of the NSORB in the resort of Albena.
“We mainly tried to make agreements by August of this year, to give the opportunity to start implementing the program and to show that it works,” said Koritarova. The concluded agreements are 1,625 out of a total of 2,170 submitted.
“Let’s do the plumbing projects and the underground infrastructure first, and then the ground infrastructure. Please prioritize the projects in order to make important steps in overcoming the drought,” Koritarova appealed. She recommended to local authorities
to work calmly and qualitatively, to be good investors
and supervise the implementation of the projects.
“We did an inspection and at a very fast pace we are already sending out invitations for the provision of documents and the conclusion of contracts,” said the regional minister in response to a question about the energy efficiency procedures under the recovery plan.
Koritarova announced that talks are underway with the EC about the unallocated BGN 900 million under the “Development of the Regions” program.
“Maybe we will announce a second procedure by the end of March 2025. Therefore, when the final decision is made, we will do a wide information campaign and meetings with you to say what the priorities are,” she added.
“The state has not done its job and needs to change several laws in order for the transition to change in the model of determining the garbage fee to go smoothly. It will no longer be calculated based on the valuation of the property, but according to the amount of garbage generated. The government postpone this by one year and it should happen from the beginning of 2026,” commented the chairman of NSORB Daniel Panov. According to him
the state threw the ordinance to the municipalities,
without the details on it being polished. The key lies in successfully following the separate waste collection model, which will drastically reduce the amount of landfilled garbage. “Many municipalities are already investing in separate collection and the optimization of garbage disposal, many town halls want to build sites,” said Panov.
It became clear that the NSOBR has requested BGN 150 million from the state budget for the coming year to solve the problems with waste management.
Panov added that in many of the municipalities, the garbage fees of cultural institutions are reduced or eliminated, which, however, affects the budgets.
Administrative buildings, including schools, receive subsidies from the state, and perhaps we should think in the direction of paying their own fees, Panov said.
“In 2025, municipalities will be able to apply with projects for the construction of sites for waste for reuse,” announced the head of the Management Body of the “Environment” program, Galina Simeonova.
The procedure will be opened at the end of March with BGN 144 million, and the financing will be on a competitive basis.
Eco-Minister Petar Dimitrov joined the discussion, who stated that municipalities bear the main responsibilities in these policies.
The implementation of the “polluter pays” principle is not simply the implementation of the law, but a complex task and responsibility of the state, municipalities, businesses and citizens, commented the executive head of the NSORB, Silvia Georgieva.
The Association of Municipalities will be able to offer 8 models for determining the fee
depending on the size of the settlement.
“The topic of waste was one of the most important, and from the first day of my assumption of office, we tackled it.
We know what the “polluter pays” regulation means and what this will lead to if it is implemented in any version,” Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev said during the meeting.
He and his team have found a system where 90% of waste is landfilled, low-quality RDF is generated, there is almost no recycling, and nobody knows what requirements are placed on recovery organizations and households.
“No one was prepared for a multiple increase in costs, so we had to move to changes throughout the chain
– from how the waste treatment plant works to how to recycle more in the plant itself, for which there was no capacity and a number of improvements had to be made. We also added new containers for separate collection, made changes to the composting system,” added Terziev.
One of its great successes is the fulfillment of one of the most important goals – reducing the amount of landfilled garbage.
Minister Rosen Karadimov: We are launching new measures
under the European programs for a total of BGN 5 billion.
Local authorities should be very active in attracting investors
The Bulgarian Development Bank has a new strategy and is preparing various programs in order to enter more directly into public policy and to help overcome regional imbalances in the country, acting Minister of Innovation and Growth Rosen Karadimov told NSOBR.
According to him, the aim is for the institution to solidify its role as a real development bank by financing public objects. Karadimov specified that the programs are being developed at the moment and next year BBR will become a real partner of the Bulgarian municipalities, especially when the state cannot or does not have the right to allocate resources.
“The local authorities must be very active in attracting investors,” said Karadimov. And he emphasized that the state finances projects to build infrastructure leading to future business sites.
“The attraction of entrepreneurs must go along several lines. It is necessary for the Investment Agency to develop further, but it is mandatory to have adequate information from the municipalities,” the minister added.
His ministry is opening new measures under the European programs with a total budget of BGN 5 billion. One of them is under the “Science and Business” program with a budget of BGN 25 million. Under the “Competitiveness” program, procedures with a budget of around BGN 102 million are opened.
According to Minister Karadimov, there will be a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Bulgaria. Some of the measures enable municipalities to participate together with businesses.
“The fund of funds will start the implementation of the funds for urban development,” the minister also said. The total budget that will be allocated under the urban development program is BGN 650 million, which will be absorbed by the end of 2029. The public resource will be provided under 2 of the European programs.
“The Fund of Funds has already announced a public procurement for the three funds,” Karadimov said. In addition to the debt and financial instruments known to date, grant-in-aid will also be eligible.
From the point of view of the municipalities, the implementation of the “Regional Development” program through the Fund of Funds is key, because it is aimed at 50 large and small cities.
The minister explained that investments in infrastructure for business, including business parks, for sustainable urban mobility, for green urban, cultural and educational infrastructure, for energy efficiency of residential and public buildings are allowed in this direction.
Karadimov hopes to start structuring the new financial instruments, including those for grants, by the end of 2024.