Investigation underway into construction project at Bulgaria’s Nessebur
Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naidenov has convened a joint committee of officials from various ministries to investigate the legality of a construction project at the coast between the town of Nessebur and the village of Ravda that conservation groups allege is in violation of Natura 2000 rules.
Work on land clearance in the area has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
Conservationists said that the work was being done in a sand dune area meant to be protected from construction development. However, the area reportedly officially is classified as land that was state forest reserve for which a land use change to enable construction was approved, and is not subject to Natura 2000 protection.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture Svetlana Boyanova signed the documents on the land transaction, involving 2.9 hectares, on behalf of Naidenov.
Naidenov has said that a report on the outcome of the investigation will be presented to Prime Minister Boiko Borissov within 10 days. He has defended Boyanova’s signing of the documentation on the transaction, saying that it did not mention dunes, Natura 2000 or a green zone.
Allegedly, the land was sold by the ministry for 580 000 leva and a day later resold for more than four million leva.
(Photo: Bin im Garten)
