By the end of the month, survey activities on the quay wall will begin in the area of the Sozopol island of St. St. Kirik and Julita. They will be the first step towards the construction of a public access zone after the outgoing cabinet transferred part of its territory to the Ministry of Transport, Nova TV specifies.
The saga with the fate of the island has been going on for decades. However, now it is entering a new phase. The transfer of 35 decares of its territory from the Ministry of Culture to the State Enterprise “Port Infrastructure“ (SE “SPI“) provoked a sharp reaction from the local authorities.
“There is no concept or strategy on which we can focus and which we can discuss. They promise us how nice it will be, but I don't believe their words. It is not clear how, without the opinion of an expert council, the amendment to the current cadastral map was made.“Saint Kirik and Julita is part of the genesis of Sozopol“, says the mayor of Sozopol Tihomir Yanakiev.
The state's plans for international terminals and museums include modernization, which will provide access to cultural heritage as a priority, claim the “Port Infrastructure“.
“We are planning to develop a terminal for public access for passenger transport, which will provide the ships currently docking at the fishing port with a normal place to dock and embark passengers, increase overall safety and enable additional transport for cabotage sailing. I believe that the synergy between the port and the Center for Underwater Archaeology of the Ministry of Culture will definitely be leading in the implementation of the project“, explains Nikolay Yordanov, executive director of the DPPI.
Yordanova denies that hotels or gaming halls will be built on the site, but historians have other concerns.
„The ideas for an island of museums are wonderful, but unfortunately they are not financially supported. The first steps are related only to strengthening the Fishery School. There is a danger here – the Ministry of Culture, the MRDPW and the DPPI will not become – many grandmothers – a frail child“. The infrastructure of the island cannot exist on its own, it is organically connected to the city“, commented Dimitar Nedev, director of the Municipal Cultural Institute “Museum Center“ in Sozopol.
And for the locals, the island has become a monument to institutional misunderstanding.
Meanwhile, over 150 archaeologists have supported a petition demanding the cancellation of the Council of Ministers' decision as risky for the future appearance of the island as a cultural and historical center.
Detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by city and neighborhood can be seen at imot.bg