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More than €180 million to go into water and sewerage operators in Burgas and Varna

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Workers laying large blue water pipes in a trench beside a road in a coastal town with the sea in the distance Construction
Workers laying large blue water pipes in a trench beside a road in a coastal town with the sea in the distance

Environment Minister Rositsa Karamfilova-Blagova said the projects include the flood-hit Elenite resort, alongside €38 million for coastal climate resilience and €11 million against landslides.

Investments of more than €180 million are being directed to the water supply and sewerage operators in Burgas and Varna, including projects for the Elenite resort complex, which was hit by flooding last year, Environment and Water Minister Rositsa Karamfilova-Blagova said on Friday 30 October, BTA reported.

She was speaking online to a strategic dialogue at the second Black Sea 2030 forum in Burgas. The ministry's work is focused on three areas: improving water quality, protecting ecosystems and making coastal areas more resilient, she said.

More than 96% of bathing water areas in Bulgaria have excellent water quality, which is a good result but requires constant effort to maintain, the minister said. She added that €38 million has been allocated under the Environment Programme to increase the climate resilience of coastal municipalities, and €11 million to deal with landslides and other natural hazards.

Karamfilova-Blagova said the strategy for protecting marine ecosystems is being updated and that Bulgaria should play an active role in shaping future European maritime policy within the European Ocean Pact, with a regional approach that takes account of the Black Sea's specific features. She said military operations in the Black Sea pose risks to marine ecosystems and that ministry staff had been on the ground in recent days to monitor the state of the sea. Progress requires better governance and coordination between institutions as well as investment, and Black Sea municipalities need to work in partnership with each other and with scientists, she said.

The forum brought together institutions, European organisations, academics and businesses to discuss security in the Black Sea, the marine environment, sustainable development, research and innovation.

For construction and engineering companies, the water and sewerage projects on the coast are a significant pipeline of infrastructure work. Separately, the Regional Development Ministry said on 30 October that around €47 million is expected to go to the water and sewerage sector in 2027 for preliminary studies and the design of main water pipelines and new facilities.

Sources