The state will help any investor who decides to create value in Bulgaria. We will undertake incentives — financial and non-financial, because it is high time Bulgaria to be a worthy partner of large investment projects. This was stated by the Minister of Economy and Industry Bogdan Bogdanov in the programme ‘More from the Day’ of BNT.
The Minister stressed that investments and attracting fresh capital to our country are key for the development of the economy.
‘Today is a good day for Bulgaria for this very reason — we have announced a very large investment that we expect to happen in our country. Investments in a key sector with an expected volume of EUR 1 billion and 100 million and over 1,000 new jobs, most of which are targeted at Stara Zagora — one of our priority regions. This investment is to produce critical components for electric vehicles and a new generation of batteries. They are actually three separate plants. One, which is for batteries, is in Stara Zagora, where 800 jobs will open. The battery recycling facility is the second project to help the industry secure resources for the future, aligning with Europe’s circular economy priorities. This investment for the recycling plant will be in Burgas. The third plant is for a development centre in Plovdiv so that the company can create its new products and train its staff,’ Bogdan Bogdanov said.
‘Investment is one of the key elements being relied upon to achieve the 3 per cent economic growth projected in Budget 2024,’ the economic minister said.
‘Currently the Bulgarian economy is one of the fastest growing in Europe. We have seen record growth in foreign investment in the last 15 years,’ he added.
‘Our economy is changing, we are no longer a place for low-wage labor. We are optimistic to continue this process’, Bogdan Bogdanov further commented.
He noted that Lukoil is a strategic asset and critical infrastructure for the Bulgarian state.
‘We need to do everything we can to keep this asset in place, keep people in their jobs and make sure we have enough fuel at the lowest possible prices. That is why the state should have a role in the sale of the company,’ the Minister of Economy and Industry said.
See the full conversation in the video