Since the start of 2018, 10 certificates have been issued under the Investment Promotion Act (IPA) of total amount nearly 600 million BG leva, 877 new jobs have been projected. In the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, the Ministry of Economy concluded contracts for the promotion of 7 certified projects under the IPA of total investment value – 99.76 million BG leva, and 1.905 new job openings. This was announced by the Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov during a briefing, attended by the Deputy Ministers of Economy Lachezar Borisov and Alexander Manolev and by the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Investment Agency Stamen Yanev.
The Minister of Economy emphasised that one of the financial incentives of the IPA, important for the enterprises in the industry, is the construction of the elements of the provisioning infrastructure (road, water and sewerage). In this respect, it became clear that in the late 2017 contracts were signed with the investors and the municipalities, in which the certified investment projects were carried out, and the municipalities of Gabrovo, Devnya and Beloslav were allocated resources from the budget of the Ministry in the amount of 3.94 million BG leva.
“The positive trend has been confirmed by the number of certified projects under the IPA,” said Minister Karanikolov. According to the minister, 31 certificates were issued in 2017. The total value of investments, provided by the projects amounts to 311.5 million BG leva, while 5,850 new job openings are expected to be announced. 15 projects shall be implemented in high-tech production and services and shall be distributed on the territory of different districts in the country. For comparison, in 2016, 24 projects were certified, and in 2015 only 12.
On the other hand, Deputy Minister Lachezar Borisov said that for the first time in the last two reported quarters by the NSI, it became clear that the investments were the ‘generator’ of economic growth and not only the consumption and exports, which have grown by 4.3% in real terms.
During the briefing, Minister Karanikolov handed three certificates to the companies ‘Amilum Bulgaria’ EAD, ‘Kastamonu Bulgaria’ AD and ‘Vitte Automotive Bulgaria’ EOOD for class A investments under the terms of the IPA. The total amount of investments of the certified companies amounts to 269,472,000 BG leva, expecting an opening of 362 new jobs. Investors thanked the Ministry of Economy and the Bulgarian Investment Agency (BIA) for the beneficial cooperation.
In conclusion, Minister Karanikolov expressed confidence that 2018 would be very successful, saying he would rely on the constructive dialogue between employers’ organizations and businesses.