Employees of the Varna municipality and other control bodies were not allowed to enter the illegal construction site near Varna, known as the “secret city“, and some of the inspectors were afraid to enter the area.
This was said in "The Day Begins with Georgi Lyubenov" by the mayor of Varna, Blagomir Kotsev, in connection with the illegal city near Varna. According to him, the inspectors encountered security guards, fences and resistance when they tried to carry out an on-site inspection, and subsequently assistance was sought from the police and gendarmerie.
He emphasized that the case with the illegal city near Varna is deep and complex, and the chronology of the actions of the institutions must be carefully followed. According to him, the municipality was aware of the case and took action, but encountered obstacles during on-site inspections. Kotsev commented on the allegations that the illegal construction was allowed due to the inaction of the institutions.
„I can say that what is being said - that there was a secret city and eyes wide open - may be true for some institutions, but it is certainly not true for me. I was certainly with my eyes wide open, because I am familiar with the events and how they started. Whether someone in the construction control had their eyes closed - I do not know, and whether they tried to close mine - is possible. And that is why the dismissals in question came about. The chronology is very important to follow in order to know what happened.“
Kotsev explained what actions were taken after the first signals.
„The first signals for illegal construction and logging in the forests of Golden Sands are from June 6, 2024, which were sent to the „Primorski“ district. The „Primorski“ district is the largest district in Varna, which has its own mayor and its own construction control. It is within their powers to act, to go to the site and establish the illegal construction, and they did so. They established that at this moment there are 11 construction sites that are in progress. They are starting to work on issuing the acts for illegal construction.“
According to him, during a subsequent inspection, more illegal sites were discovered.
„On February 3, 2025, a second inspection by the RNSK was carried out. 4 more illegal houses were found, making the total 15 at that time. The „Primorski“ district took action and issued the relevant documents. After the inspection, a joint inspection was carried out between the Varna Municipality and the „Primorski“ district, which led to the municipality's clear awareness that they were not allowed. There were security guards who did not allow them to carry out this joint inspection. At that moment, our construction control requested the entire file in a large municipality and it began to work on it. Then these acts began to be created for these 15 illegal buildings and a ping-pong between the institutions began.“
Kotsev also explained why the construction continued during this period.
„In order to stop the construction, an order to stop the construction must be issued. The orders to stop the construction are issued for the first time on September 1, 2025. From February-March 2025 to September 2025, this is the path that was taken to stop the first buildings there.“
According to him, the institutions have encountered serious resistance when trying to carry out on-site inspections.
„Follow-up inspections will be carried out at the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. Many institutions will be on March 25 – RNSK, construction control of the “Primorski“ region, of a large municipality, the forest services – and are trying to enter this area. It turns out that there are guards who do not allow any institution to enter at this time. This is according to the stories of our employees. After which they ask for additional support from the police and the gendarmerie, they were obviously scared by what was happening. The gendarmerie comes and tries to enter so that the authorities can carry out the relevant control and inventory of the buildings.“
According to Kotsev, the lack of access to the properties has hindered the work of the control authorities.
“This was not provided and was hindered by the guards, by large fences. Our employees are now saying that they were afraid to go to these sites.“
According to Kotsev, responsibility for the case cannot be shifted only to the municipality.
„This idea of some mystery surrounding the knowledge of this is an absolute myth. All institutions knew. DNSK went on January 21, 2025. In addition to houses, there is also engineering infrastructure. There are transformer stations, there is a connection to the electricity grid, there is a connection to the water supply network. That is, there are a number of institutions here that must take their responsibility.“
Regarding the photo that appeared of former deputy mayor Pavel Popov, Ukrainian ambassador and investor Oleg Nevzorov, Kotsev said that the shot was taken during an official cultural event and has no connection to the investment project.
“There is no mystery about this. This is a secular event. It is an exhibition organized by the Ukrainian Embassy, to which official guests were invited. Mr. Popov was invited as a representative of the municipality. There were a number of other guests there, and apparently the aforementioned Mr. Nevzorov was also present at this exhibition. The photo with the Ukrainian ambassador - I am convinced that Mr. Popov is there for her. He is taking a photo with the Ukrainian ambassador, not with anyone else.“
Regarding the accusations of former mayor Ivan Portnykh that the municipality had attempted to legalize illegal buildings in the area, Kotsev described them as “absolute nonsense“ and explained that the procedure for the detailed development plan is proceeding according to the law and does not depend on the mayor until it reaches him for signature.
According to him, the illegal construction will eventually reach a removal procedure.
„We will reach acts for the demolition of this construction, because that is what the law says. They will probably be appealed in court. There will be arguments from both sides. This will certainly be a procedure that will go through the appropriate stages in court.“
However, Kotsev stressed that the demolition of the sites cannot happen immediately.
„The excavators will not come tomorrow, but ultimately I assume that demolition will occur at some point.“