It seems that soon there will be no light for the tunnel under Shipka. After months ago the former regional minister Andrey Tsekov stated that “a host of problems” were delaying the project, today the acting line minister Violeta Koritarova announced that the activities set out in the conceptual project from 2008 do not meet the current norms for the construction of roads and tunnels. So not only will the tunnel not be built in 2026, as were the original deadlines, but it will also become more expensive.
Official Minister of Transport Georgi Gvozdeikov and the Polish company Stadler Polska Sp. z o. o. signed the contract for the 7 double-decker trains worth over BGN 300 million excluding VAT. The delivery period for the new rolling stock is 26 months, and the funds are provided under the Recovery Plan.
A week after the planned renovation of the capital’s “Patriarch Euthymius” Blvd. caused the dissatisfaction of the residents of the area, the Capital Municipality presented the project again today. During the briefing, it was explained in detail about the bus lane and the bicycle lane that should be built. Meanwhile, the mayor of the Sredets region Traicho Traikov pushed the idea of the so-called “red zone” for parking.
Vyara Todeva was released from the post of regional governor of Sofia-city. In her place, one of her previous deputies was appointed – Stefan Arsov, who was previously part of the Youth GERB. With its decision from today, the caretaker government also released the regional governors of Lovech, Ruse, Silistra, Sliven and Sofia region.
The banking sector is probably more heavily regulated than nuclear energy in Europe. The joking remark was made by the executive director of Post Bank Asen Yagodin regarding the regulations in the sector. The series of European regulations are becoming an increasing headache for the banking sector in Bulgaria, and this is inevitably transferred to the price of the products – be it loans or payments. This became clear during the Banking Today forum.
About a month before the early elections in Bulgaria, the deputies finally accepted that the salaries of the military should be increased significantly. The changes will take effect from 1 January 2025, with the new budget for next year. It is another pre-election decision by parliament in the past two weeks, with other such changes related to the Easter supplements, the postponement of the partial liberalization of the electricity market and the proposed ban on gambling advertising.
From today, passengers passing through Sofia Airport will be able to shop in the largest duty-free store in Bulgaria. It is part of the Swiss chain Avolta and is located just after the security checks. The facility is located on an area of 1,773 square meters and offers dozens of world-famous brands – both for food and beverages, as well as for cosmetics, accessories and others.
TikTok is one of the most popular apps among children and youth around the world, but it has also caused serious controversy. The Chinese video-sharing platform has been regularly in the news lately, as first the US and now the European Union have taken action against it.
