site.btaIndustrial Zones: A Well-Working Mechanism for Attracting Investments

Bulgaria has drawn lasting interest as a competitive investment destination, Antoaneta Bares, Executive Director of National Company Industrial Zones (NCIZ), told BTA in an interview. "In the current complicated geopolitical situation Bulgaria has new opportunities related to the relocation of manufacturing facilities and investments aimed to diversify some industries which have been affected by the disruption of supply chains due to the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine," Bares said. She described NCIZ as "a well-working mechanism for attracting investments".

"NCIZ prioritizes pressing ahead with building smart industrial infrastructure in all industrial parks and industrial zones in Bulgaria to heal the territorial investment imbalances at the regional level," she said.

So far this year, NCIZ has finalized four contracts for a total of BGN 77 million in investments, Bares said. The largest project is that of a German store chain which plans to build a cutting-edge warehouse for finished goods and packaged products, administrative, technical and office facilities in the Sofia-Bojurishte Industrial Park just outside the capital. The other three investments are in organic food production, biocertified and natural cosmetics, and healthcare. The four ventures will create 160 jobs, Bares said.

According to her, Bulgaria's industrial zones and industrial parks have evolved over the years. She laid special emphasis on the Sofia-Bojurishte Industrial Park, where more than 37 investment projects have been or are being implemented in the automotive industry, telecommunications, electronics and electrical engineering, storage and logistics, biotechnology and foods. It has absorbed EUR 312 million in resources and has created over 2,000 jobs.

Bares further noted the excellent and rapid development of Industrial and Logistic Park Burgas, Ruse Free Zone and Zagore Industrial Zone.

Responding to recent enquiries by various companies, NCIZ has kept correspondence with over 40 commercial corporations which have shown interest in acquiring NCIZ plots. The negotiations on seven projects are at an advanced stage, Bares said.

Taking a question about how Bulgaria will spend the BGN 200 million in funding earmarked for industrial zones under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Bares said that there is a growing realization that the availability of well-functioning industrial zones is conducive to business investment, economic activity and employment. The main thing about an industrial zone is that it should provide decent infrastructure. The AttractlnvestBG programme, which is part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, can help build new industrial parks and industrial zones and create additional infrastructure in existing parks and zones. In other words, the financial resources allocated under the Recovery and Resilience Plan will be used to attract key investments and develop Bulgaria's investment ecosystem.