The other day we had a meeting of the Chamber's management board in the city of Varna and visited the area “Baba Alino”, where we saw firsthand what happened. In my opinion, the buildings are not 104 houses, as is widely circulated, but rather there are about 104 sub-sites inside them.
This was stated by the chairman of the Chamber of Architects in Varna arch. Marin Velchev on the air of “Wake Up” on NOVA.
His statement comes against the backdrop of the ongoing unraveling of the case of the illegal city, after the three employees of the Ukrainian company responsible for the construction were released from custody on Saturday.
He explained that the experts had obtained drawings from the owners of the sites, which show that they were made by Ukrainian or Russian architects. “I dare to say that what we saw does not meet the norms in the legislation that we work under”, Velchev was categorical. According to him, the main problem is the drastically reduced distances between the buildings, which would not have passed as a norm in official design and approval.
When asked whether this gives grounds for the buildings to be demolished, the architect replied: “It is a well-known fact in Bulgaria that it is very easy to build illegally, and difficult to demolish illegal buildings. There are lawsuits and battles ahead that will last for many years, and unfortunately this will be at the expense of the Varna taxpayer”.
Arch. Velchev revealed that the Chamber has known about these construction projects since the end of 2024, having signaled MPs and municipal councilors about the violations in the area, which first began with the felling of the forest. Despite conversations with people close to the administration, an official response has never been received, and the reaction of the Varna municipality, according to him, is long overdue.
He also commented on the harsh words of the chairman of the Expert Council on Spatial Planning of the municipality, Kristiyan Saraliyev, who a day earlier stated that the city was being terrorized by the architectural community. “These are absolutely unacceptable words from a municipal employee, to whom the people of Varna pay a salary. I cannot allow that the architects in the city of Varna are terrorizing the municipality. We work according to the law and produce architectural products that must be approved”, Velchev was indignant.
Regarding the Ukrainian investor Oleg Nevzorov, the architect admitted that he did not know him personally, but pointed out that his company has other, completely legal projects in the city. “On the website of the Varna municipality, where the public register of all construction permits is, we saw that this year a construction permit was issued to this company in other properties, near “Baba Alino”. We see that the company can also work in a legal way”, Velchev noted.