The government has announced a new program for the management of state property, identifying 4,400 state properties - buildings and land plots. They will be divided into several columns, and the program aims to provide properties for public needs and state structures, as well as to use part of them for compensation in the event of expropriation or confiscation, the Prime Minister explained.
For assets with investment potential that currently generate costs, a sale is planned through an electronic platform with open bidding under the supervision of the Agency for Public Enterprises, Trafficnews specifies.
The funds from the sales will go to a special fund for the construction of social infrastructure - including kindergartens and schools. Other properties will be given on concession or for rent in order to increase revenues. The decision of the Council of Ministers also includes instructions for all ministries and state structures on what they should do in the coming months, in connection with their real estate entrusted to them.
By May 30, they must list their properties in the separate columns and how they can best be used. Then, by June 30, they will submit to the Agency for Public Enterprises and Control a list of properties that can be sold in order to schedule an auction.
What will the mayor of Plovdiv do?
The barracks in the city are the most discussed topic under the hills, and it recently became clear that an old military property will be built up with 12-story blocks next to the Plaza mall.
Right next to it, there are two other large properties that the military will probably sell at some point. The biggest issue remains the huge 450 acres in “Hunger Field“, which have been unnecessary for years. Although in the Master Plan most of them are given for landscaping and educational infrastructure, if the city authorities do not request it, then it can fall into private hands, and where it is possible to build on it.
The fate of two other appetizing properties of the Ministry of Defense also raises questions about the future of the respective areas. One of them is at the intersection of “Assenovgradsko Shosse“ Blvd. with “Osvobozhdenie“ Blvd. The Aviation Museum is expected to be moved to part of it, but the future of the rest of the plot is unclear.
The same is true of the properties at the foot of Mladezhkia Hill - although at the moment the unit there is still functioning, it has waning functions. According to the General Development Plan, housing can also be built there, and this will probably be the most expensive property in the history of Plovdiv if the military starts selling it.
The Municipality of Plovdiv is obliged to prevent these properties from being sold through this program, but it does not seem that Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov has at least publicly taken a position on them. It is quite possible that the city will once again follow the events and try to limit the damage that has already been done.
The mayor should also think carefully about other important state lands necessary for the construction of the road infrastructure. For the second year now, Dimitrov and BDZ and NRIC have not been able to agree on a 6-acre plot of land next to the station “Todor Diev“. Without it, the interchanges on the southern side of the Central Station breakthrough will not be able to be built, and the new infrastructure project for 100 million leva will be practically unusable.
There are also state properties for the extension of “Severen“ Blvd. and the new connection “Yuzhen“ and “Trakia“, which connects “Al. Stamboliyski“ Blvd. with “Tsar Simeon“ St. and “Assenovgradsko Shose“.
If the city government does not try to take these plots now, and then has to negotiate with private individuals or expropriate them, it will not only be a loss for the city budget, but will also show a complete lack of vision in the management of Plovdiv.
Detailed statistics on the average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be seen HERE