Sofia may lose 9.5 million leva in European grant funding for the renovation of the “Sofia“ Theater. Instead of changing Fandakova's practices of patronizing companies, Terziev's deputies are building on them. This was announced by Boris Bonev and Stefan Spasov from “Save Sofia“ at a press conference in front of the closed theater. The project to renovate the iconic building has become a chronic failure – with a 21-month delay, inflated costs of up to 36 million leva. and lack of any accountability to the public.
„Back in 2021, we protested against this bad and destructive project initiated by GERB. Even then, we warned that it posed huge risks to the architectural integrity of the building and to public funds“, said Boris Bonev, municipal councilor. „Today, these fears are confirmed - no theater, no fine for the company, no EU grant money. A triple loss for Sofia residents“, he added.
According to Bonev, the Sofia Municipality continues Yordanka Fandakova's practice - to patronize companies instead of protecting the public interest. As an example of this, he pointed to the issuance of Act 10 to suspend construction for a record 448 days, allegedly due to "bad weather conditions", which in practice works only in the interests of the builder and conceals the huge delay.
„We call on Mayor Vasil Terziev today to give a clear answer as to who is responsible for these failures and whether he will appoint an external independent audit of the project, as well as all officials responsible for it.“
Municipal Councilor Stefan Spasov emphasized that this failure is the result of systematic neglect of signals by the administration. „Back in 2021, when the public procurement was announced, we signaled all the shortcomings and potential risks that the project poses. After taking the oath as a municipal councilor, I continued to insist on rethinking the project and saving the European funding and remained unheard“, he said.
Spasov also talked about the absurd situation from yesterday (01.07.2025), when he was evicted from the site on the orders of the temporary deputy mayor for construction Nikola Lyutov. “What is there to hide? Why is the problem me, and not the loss of 10 million leva and the eternal renovation of the theater? What specific measures will Mayor Terziev take to open the largest municipal theater in Bulgaria?“ – he asked.
“Save Sofia“ They demand immediate action by the mayor, including the appointment of a professional deputy mayor for construction, a position that has remained vacant for 15 months, despite being responsible for the largest budget in the Sofia Municipality.