“The Bulgarian Government states its strong support to the Initiative for Partnership between China and the countries from Central and Eastern Europe. For us the most significant result of similar partnership would be the increase of the Chinese investments in Bulgaria and of our commodity exchange”. This was declared by the Minister of Economy Bozhidar Lukarski during the session of the Fifth Economic Forum China and the Countries from Central and Eastern Europe in Soudjou, dedicated to the development of the industrial parks. He presented Bulgaria as an excellent place for doing business, which offers significant economic and logistic advantages to the Chinese companies. According to his words the strategic location and good infrastructure connexity position Bulgaria as the Eastern Gate of Europe.
Minister Lukarski presented the economic sectors of priority for Bulgaria, in which we have potential for attraction of Chinese investments – machine building, automobile industry, electronics and electrical engineering, information and communication technologies, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, agriculture and the food industry as well as the joint building up of industrial zones and technological parks. On behalf of the Bulgarian Government he extended an invitation to the Chinese companies to invest in the Bulgarian industrial parks as strategic investors for joint construction or as individual investors in their specific sectors. We offer industrial and highly technological parks and zones, which make use of the support of the state, and which we consider will be of interest to the Chinese companies, he emphasized.
In particular, Minister Lukarski presented Economic Zone Bozhurishte managed by the State National Company Industrial Zones. The Zone is of strategic location in the proximity of the city of Sofia and is situated on an area of about 2,7 million sq. m. It has a well developed infrastructure and is directed at production, logistics and services.
“Sofia Tеch Park” was launched as the first scientific and technological park in Bulgaria, providing an excellent opportunity for the expansion of the activities of R&D centers from China in Europe. The main focus of the park is directed onto the Information and Communication Technologies; natural sciences – biotechnologies, foods and agriculture; green energy and clean technologies. The Company is ownership of the state.
The Euro-Chinese economic zone Trakia was presented as a public-private initiative, including 9 municipalities, 6 industrial zones and 3 clusters in the region of Plovdiv in Central Bulgaria. Up to this time the zone has successfully attracted investments of over 1 billion Euro and over 110 foreign and local leading companies. The objective of the zone is to create a bridge between China and Europe and to turn into a center of the industry, the trade and modern logistics. It is located strategically in Trakia Motorway, which connects Europe with Turkey and the Middle East. Minister Lukarski expressed hope that the forthcoming concession of Plovdiv Airport will additionally render assistance to the logistics and the development of the business in this region. The first stage of the development of the zone anticipates investments at the value of 150 million Euro.
”Logistic Hub Plovdiv aims at combining the increasing cargo traffic from China to the EU through the electronic trade with integrated logistics and an aviation project. The competitive advantages of the project are in the integration of its components – Plovdiv Airport, the located in the proximity economic zones, the free trade zone, and in this manner a “one-stop shop” (one counter) is being built for the Chinese companies importers in the EU”, our Minister of Economy explained. According to him these advantages, combined with the favorable economic, tax and price regime, make Bulgaria competitive with regard to the other European entry points to the market of the EU.