The Municipal Council in Karlovo gave the green light to a local referendum for one of the most commented industrial initiatives in recent months - the investment of the German arms concern "Rheinmetall", planned through a joint venture with the state-owned enterprise VMZ-Sopot, writes BTA. In the public sphere, the project gained popularity as a "new gunpowder plant", although various official statements speak of two separate facilities - one for gunpowder and the other for the production of ammunition.
The agreement with "Rheinmetall" was signed by the cabinet of Rosen Zhelyazkov in the fall, with the declared investments reaching approximately 1 billion euros, news.bg specified.
The rulers presented it as a strategic move with the potential to change "the future of the Bulgarian defense industry", with an emphasis on its importance for the EU, NATO and the development of high technologies. The German company is among the leading arms manufacturers in Europe, and the topic also caused a political clash - Rumen Radev and Boyko Borisov got into an argument over who had a greater contribution to attracting the investment, defined as one of the largest in the country.
It was this project that once again exacerbated relations between the presidency and the rulers. The reason was the intention of "Rheinmetall" to build two factories in Bulgaria - for gunpowder and for 155-millimeter artillery shells.
The referendum initiative in Karlovo came after a petition organized by the pro-Russian party "Vazrazhdane". It was initially rejected due to irregularities in the signatures, but after a re-check, the municipal council accepted that the requirements were met. Thus, the consultation was scheduled for June 28.
The residents of the municipality will have to answer three questions:
Do you agree that the Municipality of Karlovo should NOT change the purpose of properties from the municipal development plan in order to build production facilities for ammunition and gunpowder?; Do you agree that a production base for ammunition and explosives should NOT be built on the territory of the Municipality of Karlovo, related to an investment proposal by the enterprises "Rheinmetal AG" and "VMZ" EAD?; Do you agree that the construction of a gunpowder plant on the territory of the Municipality of Karlovo should be prohibited?