Bulgaria is taking a major step towards net zero operations by reducing CO2e by 1250 tonnes This was largely driven by energy optimization measures such as 100 percent metered and controlled energy The factory reduced the energy consumption of its operations by 22 percent but also increased production revenue which improved the energy intensity significantly by 43 percent compared to a 2019 baseline The 39,000-square-meter plant consists of two production buildings and manufactures low and medium-voltage products for data centers Since 2021, the site team has been taking steps to support ABB’s Sustainability Agenda. Their first significant step was to upgrade all conventional lighting in both production halls with energy-saving LED lighting fixtures and integrate the ABB i-bus KNX system for intelligent lighting control The following key milestone in the facility’s Mission to Zero™ journey was the installation of ABB AbilityTM Energy and Asset Manager solutions at both units as this innovation empowered safer and smarter operation through energy efficiency optimization and predictive maintenance The system provides real-time data and eases decision-making by allocating costs of energy resources by groups - production and air-conditioning (HVAC) and administration The installation of ABB’s solutions and the implementation of sustainable initiatives at the Rakovski plant were instrumental in achieving the ISO 50001 certification To reduce HVAC energy consumption and up to 80 percent of CO2e emissions from gas usage, the factory had heat pumps installed last year along with centralized control and monitoring for heating and cooling and a fluid distribution system. The controlling and monitoring of those systems is operated by ABB’s building management system - ABB Cylon® which was installed in both buildings at the beginning of 2024 The end-to-end solutions track and forecast energy consumption which will facilitate the future planned use of renewable energy and ensure a stable energy supply “Our end-to-end solutions contribute to the effective tracking and forecasting of energy consumption,” said Mike Mustapha ABB Electrification’s Smart Buildings Division “The achievement in our Bulgarian operations not only showcases how we reduce carbon emissions in our own built environment but it underscores our ability to help customers and partners achieve their own sustainability goals.” To meet ABB’s 2030 fleet electrification commitment the Rakovski branch started the conversion of its vehicle fleet to electric vehicles It installed 17 AC and DC EV charging stations supporting EV charging for the wider community and for passing traffic These achievements represent a key milestone in ABB Bulgaria’s net zero journey qualifying them to be designated an ABB Mission to Zero™ site The ABB Mission to Zero™ program supports the company’s commitment to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 100 percent by 2050* sites focus on improving efficiencies through energy generation and storage using ABB’s innovative technologies and third-party integration ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company’s solutions connect engineering know-how and software to optimize how things are manufactured, moved, powered and operated. Building on over 140 years of excellence, ABB’s more than 105,000 employees are committed to driving innovations that accelerate industrial transformation. www.abb.com ABB's website uses cookies. By staying here you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn more I agree HOT: » What kind of news would you like to see more of? the city of Rakovski had the honor of hosting Pope Francis during his visit to Bulgaria the city reflects on his visit with a sense of mourning One of the key moments during his time in Rakovski was when 240 children from the Catholic community received their First Communion at the "Sacred Heart of Jesus" church a moment that many in the community will never forget Residents of Rakovski still remember Pope Francis' visit as "the event of the century," describing it as a moment of immense joy recalls the kindness visible in his eyes and reflects on the Pope’s important message to Bulgaria's largest Catholic community Pope Francis urged people to avoid holding grudges and to always reconcile before the day ends emphasizing that "the cold war the next day is much more dangerous." His words continue to resonate in Rakovski with many remembering his emphasis on peace and reconciliation The Catholic community in Ruse is also mourning the passing of Pope Francis Every liturgy leading up to the Pope’s funeral will include prayers in his memory shared his thoughts on the Pope’s unique connection with people He noted that Pope Francis disliked formality and always sought to be close to the people he made sure to interact personally with everyone and priests even had the opportunity to greet him directly Father Walter compared Pope Francis to his predecessor noting that both were unafraid to show their vulnerabilities Pope Francis continued to engage with the public a decision some may view as contributing to his passing Father Walter believes that a pope who spent his life among the people could not have lived any other way We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria Bulgaria commemorates one of its most significant national holidays – the Day of Saint George the Victorious and the official Day of the Bulgarian Army all retailers in Bulgaria will be required to display prices in both leva and euros Employers in Bulgaria are legally required to implement all necessary measures to prevent and minimize workplace accidents a major British tour operator specializing in holidays to Bulgaria has halted all its operations effective April 24 Wage growth in Bulgaria is projected at 9.3 percent for 2025 a 15.4 percent rise in the minimum wage since January The World Bank has revised down its forecast for Bulgaria’s economic growth in 2025 with 45.2% of those aged 16–74 having bought goods or services via the internet in the past year The fourth edition of the LUNAR Festival of Lights in Sofia will illuminate 10,000 square meters of art across some of the city's most iconic buildings and public spaces from May 8 to May 11 The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology forecasts that May will bring temperatures ranging from 2°C to 33°C across Bulgaria a trend that has persisted for over 30 years A Romanian family paid 3,084.60 leva (1,500 euros) for medical treatment at the Burgas University Hospital following a serious road accident Google Street View Cars Return to Bulgaria for Major Mapping Update Housing Prices Soar in Bulgaria’s Major Cities as Demand and Supply Strain Increase The Catholic community in Rakovski (South Central Bulgaria) mourns the death of Pope Francis Father Mladen Plachkov of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church told BTA The town of Rakovski and the surrounding settlements are home to Bulgaria's largest Catholic community.  In 2019 Father Mladen Plachkov welcomed Pope Francis to Rakovski where the head of the Roman Catholic Church administered First Communions to nearly 250 children.  "His visit to Bulgaria and our municipality left an indelible mark in our hearts Those moments of blessing and spiritual proximity will remain forever in our memory," Rakovski Mayor Pavel Gudzherov said Pope Francis was "not only the head of the Roman Catholic Church Contacts +359 2 9262 210 By accepting cookies you can enjoy a better experience while browsing pages the late Pope Francis visited Rakovski - the city with the largest Catholic community in our country People there have warm memories of their meeting with the Holy Father His funeral ceremony can be followed live on a huge screen installed in the church "St "The memory of the Pope is really very warm but because he came to my hometown," recalls the man the Holy Father was a reformer who made the Catholic Church appear in a new light to the world Maria Chepisheva from "Caritas" told about the special candle made on the occasion of Francis' visit to Rakovski "The candle was made in a social enterprise "Caritas Workshop" by people from vulnerable groups I remember that at that time they were very excited about making it It was a challenge for them and for all of us," she said Archangel Michael" in Rakovski stated that the day we say goodbye to Pope Francis is the day "on which we remember the presence of a shepherd between his shepherd and the day on which we say goodbye to him" the Holy Father left a message of hope behind him with his appearance on Easter - just a day before he passed away Many believers also gathered at the Catholic Cathedral "St Joseph" to pray for the soul of the Holy Father and light a candle in his memory More news from Bulgaria Schmid College of Science and Technology Dr. Cyril Rakovski, associate professor of mathematics, has been named program director for the computational and data sciences graduate program Rakovski attained his doctorate in biostatistics from Harvard University, where he designed novel extensions of the classical family-based test for associations He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California where he worked on developing efficient methods for the analysis of complexly sampled case-control data new statistical methods for case-control genetic association studies and DNA methylation analysis His current research interests are causal inference statistical genetics and nonparametric methods Rakovski is taking over for the previous director Dr Hesham El-Askary who recently received the opportunity to serve as the Executive Vice President of the Egyptian Space Agency El-Askary will be take a leave of absence for the remainder of the academic year to serve in this new role “I would like to express my gratitude to Hesham for everything he has done as the director over many years making it into a highly successful graduate program The program has produced many stellar graduates some of whom now serve as faculty at Chapman and elsewhere while others have excelled in many other areas His efforts with this program also played an important role in Chapman’s elevation to R2 status.” Rakovski served as assistant director of the program last year and is looking forward to building the program further as the director Cyril Rakovski (left) working on research with Louis Ehwerhemuepha (MS ’13 April Research Highlights - Chapman researchers studying effects of Eaton Fire Tiny Sea Slug Could Have a Big Impact on Coastal Conservation Efforts - New Research from the lab of Environmental Science and Policy Professor Richelle Tanner October Research Highlights - Ginseng may not always be what it seems September Research Highlights - Schmidsters on the morning news August Research Highlights - New research in neurodegeneration March 20, 2025 by | Faculty The university’s Grand Challenges Initiative is becoming a reliable stepping-stone for postdocs seeking permanent academic roles April 11, 2025 by | Research finding effective solutions that deliver outsized impact becomes increasingly crucial assistant professor of environmental science and policy shows that a tiny marine mollusk native to the U.S West Coast may hold the key to more effective coastal restoration “Variation in thermal tolerance plasticity  Thank you for your warm welcome and for your dancing and testimonies  It is always brings me joy to meet the Holy People of God with its myriad faces and charisms Bishop Iovcev asked me to help you to “see with eyes of faith and love” I would like to thank you for helping me to see better and to understand a little more fully why this land was so dear and important to Saint John XXIII.  Here the Lord was preparing what would be an important step in our ecclesial journey  Here he developed strong friendships with our Orthodox brothers and sisters and this led him on a path that would help foster the longed-for yet ever fragile sense of fraternity between individuals and communities  I would like to recall something that “Good Pope John” once said.  His heart was so attuned to the Lord that he could register his disagreement with those around him who saw nothing but evil and to refer to them as “prophets of doom”  He was convinced of the need to trust in God’s providence which constantly accompanies us and even in the midst of adversity is capable of bringing about his deeper and unforeseeable plans (Opening Address of the Second Vatican Council discover and let themselves be guided by the power of the resurrection that there will always be painful times and unjust situations causing hope to flag and hindering every possible solution  Men and women of God have the courage to take the first step in finding creative ways of directly testifying that Love is not dead  They get involved because they have learned that  He put his own flesh at stake so that no one will feel alone or abandoned I would like to share with you an experience I had a few hours ago  This morning I visited the Vrazhdebna refugee camp and met asylum-seekers and refugees from various countries of the world who are looking for a better place to live than the one they left.  I also met the Caritas volunteers  They told me that at the heart of the Centre’s life and work is the recognition that every person is a child of God regardless of ethnicity or religious confession there is no need to ask for a curriculum vitae; love precedes  In that Caritas Centre are many Christians who have learned to see with God’s own eyes.  God is not worried about details but seeks out and awaits each person with a Father’s eyes  Seeing with the eyes of faith is a summons not to spend your life pinning labels classifying those who are worthy of love and those who are not but trying to create conditions in which every person can feel loved especially those who feel forgotten by God because they are forgotten by their brothers and sisters  Those who love do not waste time in self-pity but always try to do something concrete.  In the Centre to acknowledge them and to confront them; they let themselves be questioned and try to discern things with the eyes of the Lord  As Pope John said: “I never met a pessimist who managed to do something good”  The Lord is the first not to be pessimistic.  He constantly tries to open up paths of resurrection for all of us  How marvellous it is when our communities become building-sites of hope we need other people.  We need them to teach us to look and feel the way Jesus looks and feels to let our heart beat with his own feelings  This is why it pleased me when Mitko and Miroslava told us that for them the parish has always been a second home the place where they always found strength to carry on amid community prayer and the support of loved ones becomes a home in the midst of homes.  It manages to make the Lord present there every person tries to earn their daily bread but came into our midst.  He wants to enter into the heart of our families and say to us as he did to the disciples: “Peace be with you!” I am happy that you like the “advice” I share with spouses: “Never go to bed angry not even for one night”.  From what I see  It is a bit of advice that can also be helpful for all of us Christians we experience various trials; that is why we need to be on guard against anger resentment or bitterness taking possession of our hearts so that the fire that the Spirit has kindled in our hearts never goes out that your priests and religious sisters care for you I was struck by that priest who spoke not about how successful he had been during his years of ministry but about all those people God placed in his path to help him become a good minister of God The People of God is grateful to its priests and priests recognize that they learn how to be believers with the help of their people where everyone learns to be a sign and blessing of God for others  A priest without his people loses his identity and a people can grow apart without its priests  The unity between the priest who supports and fights for his people and the people who support and fight for their priest  Each dedicates his or her life to the others  None of us can live only for ourselves; we live for others  The priestly people can say with its priests: “This is my body given up for you”  A Church that is a mother – Mother Church – experiences and makes her children’s problems her own but seeking together paths of life and reconciliation.  Trying to make present the Kingdom of God a family and a community that takes up the knotty problems of life which are often like balls of tangled wool; before untangling them taking them into its hands and loving them hope and love for the Lord and for those whom he has a preferential love of the great witnesses who testified by their lives to the love of the Lord in these lands were convinced that the most authentic way to talk to God was in one’s own language  This made them boldly decide to translate the Bible so that no one would be without the Word of life we need to be bold and creative.  We have to ask how we can translate the love God has for us into concrete and understandable language for the younger generation  We know from experience that “young people frequently fail to find in our usual programmes a response to their concerns their problems and issues” (Christus Vivit  And this requires of us new and imaginative efforts in our pastoral outreach.  Finding ways to touch their hearts to learn about their expectations and to encourage their dreams accompanies and points to the future with hope  A great temptation faced by young people is the lack of deep roots to support them; as a result when they feel called to express all the potential they possess often give up half-way because of the frustrations or disappointments they experience since they have no roots to rely on as they look to the future (cf when they are forced to leave behind their homes Let us not be afraid to meet new challenges as long as we make every effort to ensure that our people never lack the light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus and ever new horizons that can give them meaning and a goal in life (cf  May we never forget that the most beautiful chapters in the life of the Church were written when God’s People set out with creativity to translate the love of God in their own time with the challenges they gradually encountered  It is good to know that you can count on a great living history but it is even more beautiful to realize that you are being asked to write its next chapter  Never tire of being a Church that continues to give birth to the sons and daughters that this land needs today at the start of this twenty-first century.  Always listen with one ear to the Gospel and the other to the heart of your people I thank you for this very enjoyable meeting and I would like the blessing I now give you to be a caress of the Lord for each of you Thank you for reading our article. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to our daily newsletter. Just click here For travel to the United States on a temporary basis For foreign citizens who want to live permanently in the United States Outside of Bulgaria: 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225 Learn more about quality higher-education opportunities in the U.S that you will not find anywhere else in the world Find the closest American Space in Bulgaria where you can connect with the U.S and thank you for welcoming me to the Rakovski Military Academy today I would like to thank Major General Angelov for hosting me at this institution and for allowing me to speak with all of you today I greatly appreciate this important opportunity for Allies to speak with Allies about the importance of our shared commitment to the NATO Alliance This shared commitment is not only a shared commitment to an organization but it is a shared commitment to a set of ideals and values a commitment between each and every individual within our societies This commitment ranges from the obvious pursuit of peace and security but also to the benefits peace and security bring by fostering the room for each and every one of us as people and societies to forge a prosperous and inclusive the fact that our recently confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made his first official trip to NATO Secretary Pompeo flew to meet with his counterparts in Brussels mere moments after being sworn in as our new Secretary of State by making NATO his very first overseas stop sent a powerful signal to our Allies and adversaries alike The symbolism inherent in this decision indicates undeniably that NATO is important and our friends and Allies are important to the United States “the United States commitment to the collective defense under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty remains ironclad.” this commitment to collective defense is not made simply for the sake of peace and security the positive impact of NATO membership is evident to me my colleagues here in Sofia and back in Washington and to Bulgaria’s civilian and military leadership It is sometimes difficult to explain and show these benefits to the average person just as it is often true in other NATO Ally countries it is important that we take these moments to discuss and celebrate how far we have come But it is equally important to focus on where we are going and the work still left to do leaders from every NATO Ally nation will meet in Brussels these leaders will underscore NATO’s unity and determination in addressing today’s security challenges The United States has three key priorities for the Brussels NATO Summit:  One strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense increasing defense spending and burden sharing to help fulfill this first priority positioning NATO to contribute more to the fight against terrorism Bulgaria has an important role to play in pursuing these priorities Bulgaria’s location is strategically important which makes it not only vital to NATO’s collective security as well as deterrence and defense capabilities and security to regional nations that are outside the Alliance Bulgaria successfully hosted the Saber Guardian 17 exercises last summer which brought together nearly 25,000 armed forces personnel from 22 Ally and partner nations Bulgaria will have the opportunity to build on this success and continue this important leadership role during Saber Guardian 19 next year Exercises such as Saber Guardian are essential to NATO’s deterrence and defense against all threats by increasing readiness levels NATO’s deterrence and defense must also focus on the cyber and hybrid threats as well Bulgaria plays an important leadership role helping regional nations move in the direction their citizens desire People throughout the region aspire to the progress Bulgaria has achieved over the past 28 years The people of the Balkans and the Black Sea region seek to participate in democratic world and see this as an attainable goal when they look to Bulgaria participants and observers from many neighboring countries – including those with which Bulgaria shares the Black Sea such as Ukraine and Georgia – participated in important exercises that build not only security and defense capacity for Bulgaria and other Allies and partners but build CONFIDENCE in their security and their future Another example of this is the important leadership role Bulgaria is playing during its EU Presidency Bulgaria has engaged with its Western Balkan neighbors even those that maintain difficult relations with one another to discuss important reforms and a future within the Euro-Atlantic world Bulgaria is an example to these countries and just as Bulgaria sought membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions such as the EU and NATO these countries look to how far Bulgaria has come and aspire to do the same As Assistant Secretary of State Mitchell remarked just a few weeks ago “NATO’s door remains open to all European democracies that uphold the values of the Alliance and contribute to our common security.” is a concrete example of Bulgarian regional leadership with the signing of the Friendship Agreement between the two countries The Friendship Agreement between Bulgaria and Macedonia now provides both an example of Bulgarian leadership in the Western Balkans and a concrete roadmap for repairing frayed bilateral relationships and putting aside age-old disputes Bulgaria and Macedonia now cooperate in many different domains including through training together as regional security partners Bulgaria is providing a path for them to follow does not lead simply to membership in NATO and the EU This path leads to new opportunities for these countries for years and generations to come As part of the Brussels NATO Summit next month Their participation will highlight the Alliance’s strong support for Ukraine and for Georgia and NATO’s deepening cooperation with the European Union and Enhanced Opportunities Partners such as Finland and Sweden Bulgaria’s leadership in the region helps in this effort and the United States is invested in this effort as well the United States has spent tens of millions of dollars in Bulgaria to assist and upgrade its military facilities and capabilities to ensure that Bulgaria can play a more prominent role within NATO While these investments serve the security and defense interests of Bulgaria and NATO they also mean investments and jobs within the Bulgaria economy These investments have also made Bulgaria an attractive destination for the United States and numerous other Allies for training exercises I mentioned Saber Guardian 17 and the upcoming Saber Guardian 19 but the United States and other NATO Allies deploy to Bulgaria with a steady frequency to train with their Bulgarian counterparts The United States just now began a third year of “heel-to-toe” deployment in the country F-15s are deployed to Graf Ignatievo Air Base for the Thracian Eagle Exercise flying alongside Bulgarian pilots and building new and stronger links between our air forces Deployments such as Thracian Eagle bring with them an opportunity for members of our armed forces not only to train with members of the Bulgarian armed forces and to reinforce our bonds at the individual level and recommit ourselves The American commitment to Bulgaria is not recent it does not even begin with Bulgaria’s membership in the NATO Alliance Bulgaria and the United States celebrate 25 years of the State Partnership Program with the Tennessee National Guard Throughout the years of our partnership and our cooperation as Allies we have also sent nearly ONE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED International Military Education and Training or IMET participants to training and academic programs This number includes over 20 students taking part in this invaluable program in 2018 alone for participating in IMET and for putting your knowledge and experience to such good use – training Bulgaria’s future military leaders IMET education and training benefits the whole Alliance by developing Bulgaria’s military capabilities and leadership at all ranks And the results are clear: Bulgaria has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan Some of your soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice in executing their noble missions and we thank their families and Bulgaria for their sacrifice It is often said that NATO is the greatest Alliance in history And this is true because of our ironclad shared commitments and our shared sacrifices Collective security requires not only shared commitments “Our collective defense demands greater burden sharing.”  He referenced the 2014 NATO Wales Summit during which all NATO Allies agreed to increase defense spending to 2 percent of GDP by 2024 with 20 percent of that share devoted to funding major equipment increased defense spending and burden sharing will be a key priority of the United States at the Brussels NATO Summit Bulgaria is one of a small number of NATO Allies to have created a credible plan to reach 2 percent by 2024 Now the plan must be put into action and real progress realized or Bulgaria risks falling further behind Bulgaria has allocated funds to modernize its armed forces but setbacks have stood in the way of carrying out these plans While Bulgaria has seen year-on-year increases in its defense spending as a share of GDP the country remains reliant on Soviet-era equipment Investing in military modernization not only fulfills Bulgaria’s NATO commitments but it also strengthens the country’s armed forces in myriad ways Acquiring new armored land vehicles will not only provide Bulgaria with essential equipment that helps to fulfill Bulgaria’s NATO defense spending commitments it also helps enhance Bulgaria’s role within the alliance and secures Bulgaria’s borders and territory the vision for these land vehicles includes local final assembly which will bring jobs and investment to Bulgaria Modernizing your navy will allow Bulgaria to guard its coastline and make greater use of its highly trained naval forces expanded training opportunities with NATO Allies and partners New NATO-interoperable fighter aircraft will allow Bulgaria’s talented air force to train with an ever expanding number of NATO Ally and partner nations Naturally Bulgaria is free to make the choice that is best for Bulgaria Bulgaria must modernize its air force for the safety and security of its pilots and to reduce its dependency on Russia for its defense needs but modernization and NATO-interoperability are essential for Bulgaria and for fulfilling Bulgaria’s NATO commitments Bulgaria has presented a plan for modernization which will allow it to fulfill its NATO defense spending commitments there are several countries that have already achieved the 2 percent threshold The investments made to increase defense spending and burden sharing are also vital to the future of NATO as it faces new threats such as hybrid and cyber warfare We will look to our NATO Allies to establish Counter-Hybrid Support Teams and to fully implement the NATO Counter-Terrorism Action Plan to meet these threats Bulgaria has shown itself to be a willing and able member of the Alliance Carrying out the country’s modernization plan and helping the Alliance meet the needs and threats of the future is simply the next step in this process which will bring more and greater opportunities to play an important leadership role within the Alliance let me conclude with the following:  Ahead of the NATO Summit next month Bulgaria is in a position to stand out among the Allies and the start of planning for Saber Guardian 19 Bulgaria possesses a unique resume among the Allies To take action now on implementing the country’s defense spending and modernization plans ahead of the Summit will place Bulgaria in a distinctive and envious position when the Allies gather in Brussels in July The United States stands with Bulgaria as it pursues these measures but only Bulgaria and Bulgarians can take the necessary decisions and actions Bulgaria is capable of great things when focused on a goal such as EU or NATO membership Bulgaria also demonstrates the ability to motivate and inspire its neighbors who seek to follow its path I look forward to seeing what next steps Bulgaria takes as an Ally and a regional leader and have great optimism in the future of the country I wish to thank you all for being here with me today and I am happy to take questions from the audience and begin what I believe will be a very fruitful discussion We use cookies to make our website work better and improve your experience The city was one of the stops of the Holy Father as part of his visit to Bulgaria In the temple "Sacred Heart of Jesus" in 2019 240 children from the entire Catholic community received their first communion from Pope Francis The residents of Rakovski describe the visit of Pope Francis to the city as the "event of the century" - a great joy I also remember the message that Pope Francis sent to the largest Catholic community in Bulgaria at that time Sometimes it happens that they fight more seriously But they have to make up by the end of the day because the cold war the next day is much more dangerous," they recall in Rakovski ABB Bulgaria’s Rakovski branch has started a project to renew all light sources in its two production units employing more than 1800 people which started in February and is planned to be finalized by the end of June will include removal of all current T5 luminescent lights and installation of new LED lights The lighting of the production halls will be improved and optimized based on its real need for the respective production areas The implementation of this project will reduce the operating costs for the maintenance of old lighting fixtures and will reduce electricity consumption by up to 50 percent saving 493 MW power and 80 000 BGN on a yearly basis which in turn will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the facility This initiative is part of a bigger project at the ABB site The change of light sources is just the first stage The second stage is a full integration of the ABB i-bus® KNX smart building solution which will manage all primary production lighting in an intelligent way using presence detectors and light sensors This will future-proof the site allowing for further developments such as automated and time-controlled processes for heating and ventilation as well as other applications throughout the site which can be optimally adapted to suit the demands of each area The next project planned to be implemented this year is integration of a cloud solution for energy and asset management with ABB AbilityTM which will allow precise statistics and an overview of the energy efficiency of the factories This software innovation will empower real-​time smarter operations that maximize resource efficiency and contribute to a low-​carbon future Another initiative of the Rakovski branch to support a low carbon future is the installation of EV chargers In front of the two factories one Terra 54 DC fast charger and 8 AC chargers have been installed to support e-mobility in the region This project supports ABB’s ongoing commitment to a carbon neutral future ABB’s key goals are to partner with customers and suppliers to reduce their emissions ABB aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030 The company will do this by continuing to transition to renewable sources of energy improving energy efficiency across its factories and sites and converting its vehicle fleet to electric or other non-emitting alternatives ABB has currently identified areas that can reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 80 percent and as technologies evolve the company will continuously seek opportunities to do more 30 percent of the electricity consumed by ABB came from renewables reducing emissions by more than 40 percent compared with a 2013 baseline Christmas Song Aims to Inspire Peace in the Holy Land Pope’s Message of Hope Launched into Space to Orbit Earth Here is Pope Francis’ Schedule for World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon Marian Apparitions Must Always Point to Jesus Pope Francis gives first Communion to children during a Mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Rakovski By Cindy Wooden • Catholic News Service • Posted May 6 Bulgaria (CNS) — In the Catholic heart of Bulgaria Pope Francis celebrated a special Mass for 245 children receiving their first Communion and thanked them for helping him their parents and grandparents remember their own first Communion “Today you have made it possible for us to relive that joy and to celebrate Jesus present in the bread of life,” the pope told the children May 6 in Rakovski’s Church of the Sacred Heart While only about 1 percent of Bulgaria’s population is Catholic in Rakovski the vast majority of the city’s 27,000 people are Catholic “Jesus is alive and here with us; that is why we can encounter him today in the Eucharist,” the pope said “We do not see him with our physical eyes but we do see him with the eyes of faith.” Pope Francis focused on the first communicants dressed in white robes and seated in the front rows “Are you happy to receive your first Communion?” he asked them “Yes,” the braver ones said out loud “Are you sure?” the pope asked “In the homily I said something I want you to remember forever,” the pope told the children “I spoke of the ID card of a Christian I said our ID card is this: God is our father Pope Francis had the children repeat each line after him — or rather after the translator who was telling the children in Bulgarian what the pope had said in Italian either to test the translator or the children “We are enemies.” When it was about to be repeated After the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer “Now you will receive Jesus,” he told them “Do not let yourselves be distracted; think only of Jesus Come to the altar to receive Jesus in silence; silence your hearts.” dipping the consecrated host in the consecrated wine personally gave Communion to each of the children while other priests brought the Eucharist to another 500 people inside the church and an estimated 10,000 people gathered on the church grounds for the Mass The Vatican press office said it was the first time on a papal trip that Pope Francis had administered first Communion Pope Francis urged the region’s Catholics to be bold and creative in handing on the faith to new generations “We have to ask how we can translate the love God has for us into concrete and understandable languages for the younger generations,” the pope said The key is “finding ways to touch their hearts to learn about their expectations and to encourage their dreams as a community-family that supports accompanies and points to the future with hope,” Pope Francis said CatholicPhilly.com works to strengthen the connections between people families and communities every day by delivering the news people need to know about the Catholic Church you and hundreds of other 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Catholics in Bulgaria make up about one per cent of the population Around ten thousand faithful gathered in the predominantly Catholic town of Rakovski on Monday afternoon to see and hear Pope Francis speak to them about a theme very close to his heart: seeing with the eyes of faith “God’s people learn to see…and be guided by the power of the resurrection” While recognizing there will always be pain and injustice but courageously “take the first step in finding creative ways of directly testifying that Love is not dead” Pope Francis shared his experience of visiting a refugee camp earlier in the morning He spoke of how every person there is recognized as a child of God and how there is “no need to ask for a curriculum vitae” The Pope said he met many Christians “who have learned to see with God’s own eyes” Pope Francis continued with a quote by Pope Saint John XXIII: “I never met a pessimist who managed to do something good” The Lord is the first not to be pessimistic Seeing with the eyes of faith means not spending your life “pinning labels” we should try to create conditions “in which every person can feel loved” Pope Francis then commented on the three testimonies that preceded the afternoon encounter After a family told him how their parish was a second home where they found strength and support the Pope confirmed that every parish should be “a home in the midst of homes” After a priest described how it is people who help him become a good minister of God the Pope said “a priest without his people loses his identity” Responding to the testimony of a woman religious Pope Francis spoke of the “Church that is a Mother” but “makes her children’s problems her own” The Pope described the Church as “a family among families…open to faith Pope Francis invited Bulgaria’s Catholic community to be “bold and creative” and to find ways to touch the hearts of young people supporting and accompanying them through “new and imaginative efforts in our pastoral outreach” “Let us not be afraid to meet new challenges” Just make sure that everyone has “a community of faith to support them” and “always listen with one ear to the Gospel and the other to the heart of your people” The new academic year 2024/2025 at the Rakovski National Defence College was opened today The ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov and Chief of Defence Admiral Emil Eftimov The Minister reviewed the troops and a water blessing ceremony was celebrated for health and prosperity said: "The military conflicts in recent years and the war developing close to our borders demonstrate new trends in the way modern warfare is conducted Artificial intelligence and new technologies are changing the nature of military conflicts and require the building of a new generation of defence capabilities." The Military Academy admits students in two master's degree programmes - "Strategic Leadership of Defence and Armed Forces" at the Faculty of National Security and Defence and "Organization and Management of Military Formations at Operational Level" at the Faculty of Command and Staff This year among the students of both specialties there are officers from the Republic of North Macedonia The Rakovski National Defence College is the oldest higher military school in Bulgaria As a key milestone in ABB’s Mission to Zero™ journey to carbon neutrality ABB Bulgaria has installed the ABB AbilityTM Energy and Asset Manager solutions at its two production units for low and medium voltage products in Rakovski This achievement will enable the facilities to consume less energy and enhance production performance bringing the company a further step closer to meeting its 2030 sustainability targets for achieving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions across its own operations ABB AbilityTM Energy and Asset Manager is a state-of-the-art cloud solution that integrates energy and asset management in a single intuitive dashboard It offers real-time monitoring of electricity costs and stores information from past periods analyze and compare energy consumption across different areas in order to optimize energy efficiency The integration of ABB AbilityTM in ABB’s production unit in Rakovski follows a series of energy consumption optimization activities that were started in 2021 These included replacing the conventional lighting in the production halls with energy-saving LED lighting fixtures and integrating the ABB i-bus KNX system for intelligent lighting control facilitating illumination maintenance only as and when triggered by the system to do so Utilizing intelligent systems puts ABB’s Rakovski facilities on track to achieve their energy efficiency targets of reducing energy costs by 20% improving the facility performance by 30% and avoiding unplanned shutdowns the production units will benefit from up to 40% savings on maintenance costs with a predictive maintenance feature and increase the life span of switchgear components The latest installed solution also enhances safety and reliability of the entire electrical system at the facility The integration of such a system supports the implementation of the ISO 50001 process phase Rakovski has successfully secured the ISO 50001 certification for efficient energy management This achievement represents a key milestone in ABB Bulgaria’s carbon-neutral journey and underpins our ability to help customers achieve their own sustainability goals "Having the ABB AbilityTM Energy and Asset Manager solution installed in our facilities is a great achievement for us as it helps us to track and forecast our energy consumption which will be a very important factor for our future planned use of renewable energy We have foreseen a number of other activities in this direction electrification of our fleet and other actions that will allow us to realize our own ambitions for carbon neutrality and help customers do the same," said Ivan Vodentchev Branch Manager of ABB Bulgaria – branch Rakovski To find out more about the ABB AbilityTM Energy and Asset Manager solution please visit: solutions.abb/bg-energy-asset-manager ABB’s Electrification Business Area is a global leader in electrical products and solutions Our 50,000+ employees are dedicated to transforming how people live smart and sustainable electrification solutions We are shaping the future trends of electrification differentiating through technological and digital innovation while delivering an outstanding experience through operational excellence for our customers across utilities infrastructure and mobility. go.abb/electrification FM Sharan Rao headed into the final round with a half point lead 6.5/8 He defeated FM Nikolaos Koutlas (GRE) to make sure tie-breaks do not come into play and he becomes a clear champion He gained 40.2 Elo rating points at this event and he is storming towards 2400 to become an IM as rating is the only criteria left to fulfill his IM title requirements A total of 95 players including a GM and four IMs took part from eight countries across the world in this six-day nine-round Swiss League Below 2400 Rating tournament The tournament was organized by Municipality of Kotel and Chess Club An Pasan at Sports facility of MS The time control of the event was 60 minutes + 30 seconds increment from move no.1 Details Tournament details We have launched the ChessBase India App. Check out this amazing resource! Android for now - Download the app now Follow Tweets by @ChessbaseIndia ChessBase India is proud to be the official partner of chessbase.com reporting on events in India Like our Facebook page for more Indian chess updates The all new ChessBase Premium Account which gives you access to ten amazing online ChessBase services like PlayChess Become a part of the ever-growing ChessBase India Youtube Channel. Subscribe now and stay update with our awesome video content.  women and children will chase the evil forces away with their terrible masks and the sound of bells in Rakovski on Feb Then the city will host the International Kukove mummers Festival Participation in it was declared by the mummers group “Rogach” at the community center in the village of Oborishte mummers group from the village of Elshitsa and the amateurs from the folk ensemble “Zvezditza cleargreen” The festival will begin on February 9 with a concert of amateur groups from Rakovski and the region and performances of Lyuben Karavelov High School in Plovdiv at the “Europe” Square in Rakovski you can witness a race gala at the festival and a prize pool is provided for the winners The audience and the participants will rejoice with the Young Thracians orchestra The festival also featured groups from abroad The holiday is the second largest after the masquerade festival in Pernik Undoubtedly there are a lot of amazing places around the world worth visiting at least once in life Bulgaria is such a place where you will wish to come back again and again In every season and every region of this small country Traffic at the junction of Patriarch Evtimiy Boulevard and Georgi Rakovski Street in Sofia was temporarily suspended due to a protest Citizens were protesting over the new traffic organization on the two streets The police presence in the area was increased and a traffic jam was formed during the protest.  Pope Francis received an enthusiastic welcome this morning from tens of thousands of Bulgarians when he visited the small town of Rakovski in southwest Bulgaria to celebrate Mass and give first holy Communion to 245 children Francis considers himself a parish priest—“the world’s parish priest” as he once told a friend he presided in a small Catholic enclave more than 100 miles from Sofia all dressed in white and accompanied by their parents and friends had come from far and wide for this momentous occasion applauded and cheered as he passed by in the popemobile Francis got down from the vehicle to walk among them Bulgaria is known as “the land of roses,” and Francis smiled when one young boy gave him a red rose He celebrated Mass in the Church of the Sacred Heart which was built after the 1928 earthquake thanks to the efforts of Archbishop Angelo Roncalli who later became Pope John XXIII and whom Francis canonized along with John Paul II—the first pope to come to this country and tens of thousands gathered outside to follow the Mass on Jumbotrons Francis spoke in a way the children could understand and kept it short He told them he was happy to be with them and their parents relatives and friends on this day and offered them the traditional Easter greeting in Bulgaria: “Christos vozkrese!” (“Christ is risen!”) “you have come here from every corner of this ‘land of roses’ to take part in a wonderful celebration I am sure you will never forget this day: your first encounter with Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist.” Jesus gave his life on the cross and destroyed sin He rose again and made us adopted sons and daughters of God the Father We are joyful because he is alive and present among us speaking to them as he used to address children back in Buenos Aires Francis said: “One of you might ask me: How can we meet Jesus It is true: Jesus carried out an immense act of love to save human beings of all times but we know—the Apostles and many other witnesses who saw him alive have assured us—that God That is why we can encounter him today in the Eucharist but we do see him with the eyes of faith.” He told them they looked “beautiful” dressed in their white robes for a celebration He will always be with us.” He reminded them that this celebration was made possible thanks to their parents and grandparents their catechists and priests who “have also accompanied you on the road that today leads you to meet Jesus and to receive him in your hearts.” “This is our identity card: God is our Father he told them: “This is our identity card: God is our Father which was enriched by beautiful singing and the sounds of drums and got them to repeat the text of their “identity card.” When they had done so “Are we enemies?” They shouted “no!” He asked “Are we friends?” They shouted “yes!” And he ended by telling them RELATED STORIES Pope Francis meets with Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch NeofitGerard O’Connell Pope Francis hails Bulgaria as “a culture of encounter”Gerard O’Connell He asked them “to always pray with the same enthusiasm and joy that you feel today” and to “remember that this is the sacrament of your first Communion He said he hoped “that today will be the beginning of many Communions he spoke again and told them: “Now you will receive Jesus Don’t think of anything else; just think of Jesus Remember this is the first time you receive him.” He then gave holy Communion to all 245 children as will the 68,000 Catholics that live in this “land of the roses.” Pope Francis will remember it too: They released a shower of white rose petals on him as he left the altar Gerard O’Connell is America’s Vatican correspondent Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email address As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important America’s voice is in the conversation about the church and the world. We can't do it without you—America Media relies on generous support from our readers. Please visit our membership page to learn how you can invest in our work by subscribing to the magazine or making a donation If you’re already a subscriber or donor, thank you! If you login and register your print subscription number with your account, you’ll have unlimited access to the website. Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions "You must have strong faith and pray - then the saint will help you and carry your prayer to God," says Father Georgi Markov of the Church of St Athanasius the Great in Gorni Lozen near Sofia He adds that he has often witnessed the miracles of St. marks 1160 years since the baptism of our Bulgarian people into the Orthodox faith and 1170 years since the creation of the Bulgarian alphabet and Slavic literature the Varna and Veliki Preslav Bishopric Metropolis. Bulgaria celebrates 149 years since the April Uprising – an event that led to the liberation of Bulgaria after almost five centuries of Ottoman rule we must not forget that every participant in the April. english@bnr.bg An online exhibition presents little-known documents about the life and work of Bulgaria’s revolutionary Georgi Rakovski on occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth The Regional Administration Ruse clarifies that the exhibition shown on its website includes eight documents and a painting which is part of the archives of Ruse Regional Historical Museum and the State Archive in Ruse The exhibition features three letters of revolutionary Georgi Rakovski Rakovski calls on Bulgarians to stay united in their opposition to the Patriarchate of Constantinople discovered in the village of Novo Selo in 1955 It is kept at the Ruse Regional Historical Museum Alexander Nevsky Cathedral becomes a car-free place A new organization of traffic is being introduced in the area closed between Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. in front of the monument of the Unknown Warrior and the church of St in the direction of Gina Kuncheva Square and the square itself are pedestrian zones also with the passage of cars with a special regime Nevsky" Square will be carried out in one lane from "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd along "15th November" Street past the National Assembly along the eastern arc to the left along "Moskovska" street or directly along "Dunav" street and exit at "Dondukov" blvd In the other direction along "11th August" Street along "15th November" Street to "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd The organization of movement along "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd Rakovski" remains two-way traffic with two lanes in each direction "Moskovska" remains one-way from "Dunav" street in the direction of "G has three outbound traffic lanes in the direction of "Vasil Levski" Blvd and one inbound lane in the direction of the center and one "blue zone" parking lane; as well as the parking spaces along the western arc of the square; Parking spaces are allocated in the section from "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd Nevsky to 11th August Street; There are also places for parking behind the monument to Tsar Osvoboditel and taxi stands The purpose of the introduced change of traffic is to free the square space around the temple-monument "St A major criminal network involved in trafficking and reselling heavily damaged vehicles imported from the United States has been dismantled through a large-scale investigation Google Street View cars are returning to Bulgarian roads in the spring of 2025 President Donald Trump has announced a sweeping 25% tariff on all imported vehicles entering the United States The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works in Bulgaria has proposed the introduction of one-day vignettes for passenger cars weighing up to 3.5 tons using the national road network Serbia aims to introduce flying cars by 2027 who made the announcement during the World Economic Forum in Davos The Road Infrastructure Agency has urged drivers to ensure their vehicles are properly prepared for winter conditions in the coming days as meteorologists forecast rain and snow in Northwestern Bulgaria and the Fore-Balkans This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Young Catholics from all over the country met at the Saint Francis of Assisi church in the village of Belozem the journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to his celestial home Some of the children who received first communion from the Pope during his visit to Bulgaria in 2019 wrote down their messages and gratitude and left them next to the photograph of His Holiness a town with the biggest Catholic community in the country Pope Francis gave first communion to 250 children you have come here from every corner of this “Land of Roses” to take part in a wonderful celebration I am sure you will never forget this day: your first encounter with Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist because he wants to work the miracle of bringing his joy to many of your friends and family members,” the Pope said at the time Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev has left for Washington where he will participate in the Munich Leaders Meeting (May 5-7 The forum is organised by the Munich Security Conference The foundation Unity- Kočani has sent an open letter to key Bulgarian institutions expressing gratitude for the support and humanitarian assistance provided by Bulgaria after the tragedy of the fire at a nightclub in Kočani The foreign ministers of Bulgaria and Greece Georg Georgiev and Giorgos Gerapetritis signed a joint declaration on the use of the waters of the river Arda on 2 May the BNR reports citing an announcement published by the Greek Foreign Ministry.. people will be able to withdraw money  from ATMs only in the new currency according to the website of the Bulgarian. helicopters of the Bulgarian Air Force will fly at low altitude over Sofia in preparation for a military parade marking the Day. The Bulgarian student teams that participated in the European Olympiad of Experimental Sciences EOES 2025 in Zagreb have returned with. predicts that Southern Bulgaria will be affected by water shortages and the north of the country by floods and tornadoes The analysis by hydrologists and meteorologists looks at two scenarios - realistic and pessimistic average temperatures are predicted to rise by between 1 and 2 degrees in the coming years but according to the pessimistic scenario - temperatures could increase by 6 degrees Precipitation is expected to decline by between 5% and 30% and heatwaves will last on average between 5 and 10 days longer "Many people ask me - what kind of olives do you sell - are they green or black October they ripe and turn black," says Yovko Ailov tangerines are just a few of the fruit trees that Yovko Aylov has been growing in Rakovski for more than 10 years "With the changes in the climate in Bulgaria many farmers are beginning to plant olive trees in large numbers One of the olive varieties is most commonly used in olive oil production this is the olive variety that produces the best quality of olive oil in the whole world," he explains Milder winters brought on by the climate change create conditions in more places in the country to grow crops typical for Greece and Turkey "Farmers started planting a lot of pistachios more exotic varieties of plants that are not typical for Bulgaria," Yovko Ailov pointed out But how will the climate change in Bulgaria To find out - from the town of Rakovski we go to Switzerland to the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne hailstorms - they will increase both in strength and duration," explained Dr Valentin Simeonov And the reason for this lies even in the frequent going to the polls "Some draconian laws have to be passed to protect forests and the practice of trading votes for firewood - it would be better to replace it with giving coal it would be more environmentally friendly because the loss of the forest is incomparably greater than the release of greenhouse gases from burning coal," says Dr Valentin Simeonov Forests are a natural regulator of temperatures and flooding Bulgaria remains one of the few countries with a large forest fund that does not have fire-fighting aircraft to extinguish fires in hard-to-reach places In temperatures above 30 degrees per Celsius wind speeds below 30 km/h and humidity below 30% all access to forests is forbidden due to the danger of fires," explains Dr Valentin Simeonov According to the long-term analysis of the Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology the water in the rivers in southern Bulgaria is expected to decrease by nearly 20% Short-duration but intense rainfalls are expected to cause floods in Northern Bulgaria as well as on the Southern Black Sea coast and stormy winds even tornadoes may be observed in Northeastern Bulgaria we are sure to witness multiple intense rainfalls leading to floods We will see a long number of days without precipitation - that is and the worst thing is that these mutually exclusive phenomena will go hand in hand," says Simeon Matev it's fought with innovative solutions in agriculture and it's fought with changing each one of us The exclusion of the river as a water source for Bulgaria makes our country water poor A special computer software program will be launched in the Bulgarian capital Sofia in the near future to help ease traffic congestion The computer will allow traffic policemen to remotely control traffic lights There are currently pilot tests of the program at 5 key Sofia intersections One large monitor and 2 computers now provide information to the traffic police through the Sofia City Hall security cameras Instead of sending a traffic policeman to the jammed intersection the employees can remotely command the traffic lights The system is now used to ease traffic on Orlov Most (Eagles' Bridge) and the intersections of "G Rakovski" and "Tsar Osvoboditel" (Liberator) streets of "Tsar Osvoboditel" and "Vasil Levski" street of "Vasil Levski" and Graf Ignatiev" street and of "G.S The system is to include over 30 intersections and then the expectations are for the traffic to be significantly alleviated Traffic police are quoted saying this program is one of their dreams while the idea is also well accepted by drivers Residents of Sofia who are customers of "Toplofikatsia Sofia" can now benefit from a new mobile application "My Heat," which offers a more accessible and user-friendly way to manage heating-related services the director of the Plovdiv Customs Office was arrested earlier today for allegedly facilitating a new smuggling route for cigarettes The Sofia Police has launched a targeted operation against drivers of electric scooters and electric motorbikes who engage in reckless behavior in the city's central areas Todor Kantardzhiev warned that Sofia's sewer system should be cleared of rats opened fire with a gas pistol near a kindergarten in Sofia's Lyulin district The sale of BenchMark business center on Sofia's Tsarigradsko Shosse Boulevard has failed after the bidders submitted unsatisfactory offers one of the biggest property funds on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange invited a tender for the sale of BenchMark business center in July last year "We are not happy with the offers and besides we are not obliged to strike a deal," Veselin Genchev m and the investments made in it have been estimated at EUR 27 M In a report about its activities in 2009 the fund's management fixed a selling price of EUR 35 M Meanwhile it emerged that BenchMark Fund Estates is close to wrapping up the sale of Rakovski Business Center on Rakovski Boulevard in Sofia to the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria The impressive futuristic building is expected to obtain a permit for exploitation by the end of the year Benchmark Fund fixed a selling price of EUR 10.65 M for this building Recent surveys have showed that asking rental and sale rates for office space in the Bulgarian capital Sofia have significantly dropped driven by the large supply and the weaker demand The real estate market in Bulgaria maintained stability and activity during the first quarter of 2025 with strong demand despite a moderate drop in transactions compared to late 2024 Many home buyers in Bulgaria are increasingly favoring newly built properties The National Real Estate Association has raised concerns regarding the proposed Bill on Real Estate Brokers the city of Rakovski had the honor of hosting Pope Francis during his visit to Bulgaria rising from an average of €715 per square meter in 2015 to more than €2,100 at the beginning of 2025 Bulgaria's real estate market has seen a notable uptick since the beginning of 2025 with housing prices increasing by approximately 6% Sofia Municipality is set to implement a revised framework for managing its municipal housing stock by introducing two distinct rental categories Exclusive interview of Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) with Nikolay Brankov Managing Director of Industrial Developments at SIENIT Holding Brankov is in charge of managing five industrial zones in Bulgaria created by SIENIT holding in some cases in cooperation with other private partners Parvomai; one - Letnisa - is in Northern Bulgaria near Lovech You are in charge of the following industrial zones in Bulgaria: Rakovski Industrial Zone Letnitsa Industrial Park.What is the structure of these industrial parks These projects in their development phase were all 100% owned by Sienit Holding through some of the FPVs we created specially for the purpose because they are individual companies each industrial zone is an independent business managed as part of the structure of Sienit Holding the ownership of the industrial zones is 100% of Sienit Holding other cases we partner with other companies Sienit Holding has a share of 50% and KCM SA has a share of 50% KCM is one of the largest factories in the Plovdiv region and the Kuklen Industrial Zone is a natural expansion of the industrial complex they created The Rakovski Industrial Zone was set up as a purely greenfield investment In the Parvomai Industrial Zone we have partners with a 50% share I manage the industrial projects of the group of Sienit Holding which means that I am either the sole manager as in the Rakovski Industrial Zone in the Parvomai Industrial Zone where we have partners So all of our industrial zones are 100% private At the beginning these projects belonged 100% to the developer the investors become the owners of plots and projects in the industrial zone we retain the ownership and rent out the facilities to the investors So the ownership at present is either what it was at the beginning – with us the developer letting out the facilities or the investors buy plots and facilities that we created for them What has been your company's philosophy behind the development of your industrial zone projects Our idea as a developer has been the following – we try – and I would say that we succeed to provide each of the investors with a full package of services in one place This means that we provide them with the end product executed according to their requirements We are the leading party in the entire process so they don't have to deal with anything else other than their original activity we carry out the entire administrative procedure for changing the status of the land and we deliver it to them so that they operate in it We manage to do this in rather short periods This is largely because our holding includes a construction firm firms for producing construction materials that we use for building the industrial facilities So we try to lock a large part of this cycle inside the holding group so that we can be more competitive Because if we can talk directly with smaller and mid-sized investors when we deal with larger companies such as ABB we have to bid in tenders that we have won in order to attract them to the respective facility How long does it take to complete one of your industrial zones started in the summer of 2004 so what can be seen on the photos has been accomplished in 6 years Another indicator is that an average industrial building of 10 000 square meters is completed and delivered to the investor in 9 months What are you relations with the InvestBulgaria Agency and the "National Company Industrial Zones" We have been working with the InvestBulgaria Agency for many years We have signed an agreement for attracting foreign direct investments and we have been partnering exclusively on the operational level meaning that we have tried to serve the interests of every single foreign investor that tries to develop such a project in Bulgaria and when a potential investor asks to see industrial zones in Bulgaria Our solutions are individual for every single investor meeting their respective requirements even though from the outside the industrial buildings seem standard each of them has very specific detailed requirements Each of these projects – from start to completion – has been developed individually – space distribution Are you able to provide specific figures about the amount of investments in the industrial zones that you manage I can provide information about investments in the planning and construction of the plants which is the first phase; after that each manufacturing or logistics company invests in equipment and this investment usually surpasses the one in the construction phase but its amount is usually not disclosed They published information about their investment in Bulgaria and were awarded as Investor of the Year for 2009 There investment was EUR 15 M; the employed persons were 350 at first But we are talking about many companies here so it is hard to tell exactly because they keep expanding and developing the facilities and equipment for example in the cases of the investments of William Hughes and ixetic As far as the number of jobs – about 1 100 people work in the Rakovski Industrial Zone; about 3 000 in the Maritsa Industrial Zone and are looking to expand; the same goes for William Hughes So the number of jobs is growing even in this harsh economic environment at the moment Drawing upon your experience – what are the most important factors to make such a greenfield industrial investment successful and then there is a smaller framework within the first one the respective country should be attractive enough For quite a while now Bulgaria has been been most of requirements and we checking most of the boxes for a number of reasons for the past 5 years Bulgaria's taxation policy has been extremely attractive We have relatively attractive prices of electricity These are the kinds of things that investors evaluate to determine whether to go for a certain investment the smaller framework is that when the investors have selected Bulgaria we are able to offer the finished solution for them and they only have to work with one single entity at one spot They don't have to become familiarized and go through the entire administrative process in Bulgaria which I can say is rather complicated for the construction of one industrial plant the launching into operation – all that requires work with miscellaneous institutions and very good coordination in Bulgaria's administrative structure that foreign companies don't know So it is best for them to if somebody else can take up the burden of this process for them and they can focus on their original activity and high quality of the facilities that we achieve For some of the larger plants that we construct our teams actually visit similar factories abroad to make sure we comply with the requirements I can safely say that their Bulgarian facilities are at the same or a better level than the plants in their home countries and each one of these investors can confirm my words the level of engineering they get here fully meets their requirements for the end product it is this finished product that attracts them most foreign investors need a functioning facility where they can start work The other major thing is the time – especially for smaller and medium-sized companies Not so much for a large corporation because those can often afford to wait Still another main factor is infrastructure – which has to meet EU standards – roads But we take care of that in the preparation and planning phase when we design the respective industrial park How would you characterize Bulgaria's potential in that respect If we look at the entire construction sector today – industrial vacation properties – the positive thing for us as a company is that we are focused on industrial construction and we hardly feel the effects of the crisis because this construction segment continues to develop Dynamic new investors keep looking at Bulgaria we expand existing plans and welcome new companies This whole activity is actually on the rise in Bulgaria at the moment From what I have seen from the companies coming in as foreign investors Bulgaria is actually a very beneficial location for them to reduce their expenditures and become more cost effective Here they have a lot more instruments that they can use to that end than in the countries where they come from because their costs there are fixed and pretty much the way for them to reduce them is by cutting the amount of human labor – which occupies a sizable share of their production costs In Bulgaria they are able to achieve the same results with much smaller operational costs it has been a great advantage for those who had already made investments in Bulgaria before the crisis because they enjoyed having the alternative of a low-cost destination – because we are precisely a low-cost investment destination in terms of labor Given what you just mentioned – if we look at the model of industrial outsourcing in China and other destination countries around the world – how should Bulgaria compare to their model What should the Bulgarian model of attracting industrial outsourcing look like with respect to industrial zone projects I think that at the moment Bulgaria has clear advantages Right now the Bulgarian Economy Ministry and the Bulgarian Cabinet together with the National Company "Industrial Zones" are investing enormous efforts to attract Chinese industrialists to Bulgaria Why is that and why is it possible and feasible Because if we look at the developed industrial provinces of China it is safe to say that Bulgaria has come close to them in terms of the cost levels generated here and there That is to say that in the developed Chinese provinces with contemporary industrial zones where they also have hi-tech products and research and development going on – the advantage they had with the immensely low cost of labor has started to disappear and the labor production costs there and the same costs in Bulgaria have become generally similar That is precisely why more and more European companies who had outsourced their operations to China are now looking at places such as Bulgaria with a great interest because they would be able to achieve the same results here but at a location that is much closer to them they will cut the transportation and logistics costs and will be able to control the entire production and distribution process much more easily When you factor in the advantage of having an EU product My argument is supported by what I already mentioned – that at present even Chinese investors and industrialists are considering Bulgaria as an investment destination in a very focused way – precisely because they stand chances of acquiring deepened access to European markets that way What makes this harder to happen is that it is much easier for an EU company to outsource in Bulgaria than for a Chinese company About a year ago we had a large Chinese business delegation – 250 senior industrialists and heads of manufacturing operations in Chinese industrial companies – that we took to the Rakovski Industrial Zone to show them how it is working out over there They managed to get a flavor of what they can achieve in Bulgaria as far as the construction of facilities and outsourcing or just expanding production operations are concerned – that would not be hard at all there must the approval of a lot of people and institutions three Chinese companies won't relocate their operations to Bulgaria – this whole thing needs to be part of a much larger framework and an official policy and that is why we have joined efforts with the state and its institutions Because the Chinese are clearly interested in the Balkan region and the growth that they have had provides them with the resources to look at such investment destinations that can integrate them into the European market in a such an elegant way So do you think that Bulgaria can benefit by grabbing a share of Chinese outsourcing as part of a trend in which China would start outsourcing itself and I hope many Chinese companies will select Bulgaria as an investment destination The only question is what locations the Chinese will pick in Europe because they have the economic power to expand and the time seems right for such moves The Bulgarian state has been very active in that respect several agreements of cooperation and partnership have been signed with Chinese institutions There has been no end result yet but a lot has been done and there is much progress in that direction How do you view the concept and potential for the work of National Company "Industrial Zones" the former government had a plan for the company to create and manage 100 industrial zones; now this has been modified to several major zones around the country I think that the current model is much more realistic compared with the initial plan with the 100 zones Bulgaria has a sufficiently small population to have plans of such scale one has to emphasize that it is not the large number that matters Several well developed industrial zone projects are enough and will do the job rather than dotting the entire landscape with them it will be nice to have industries to sustain every small Bulgarian town and to provide employment but it is unlikely because having a great desire for that kind of things is not sufficient as a factor the National Company is investing enormous efforts to develop such industrial zone projects including as municipal and state projects Our industrial zones are 100% private; the National Company is 100% state-owned which has managed to set up a 100% municipality-owned industrial zone Our experience and research of what has been observed in most newer EU member states is that when those countries became destinations for outsourcing the largest number of industrial projects there were based upon public-private partnerships (PPPs) – for example There is a reason for that – because the municipality can provide the land and help out with the administrative process but the role of the private entrepreneur who can plan and organize supplies and construction of an industrial facility quickly and efficiently is inevitable just the land and the infrastructure are not of such a great value to the investor What I see as the obstacle in projects realized solely by a municipality is that flexibility there is limited while there is little time – because each decision has to be made by a municipal council – or in some cases the Council of Ministers this segment is highly competitive so when an investor shows up the central or local authorities have to be very careful with respect to providing preferential treatment because there is the competition protection legislation restricting the state authorities All these things make it complicated for state or local authorities to complete industrial zones There are certainly tools to alleviate that but I am not sure that the state has the desire to deal the same way a private company would with all the tiny details and all the things I mentioned – the entire process from 0% to 100% I cannot imagine the state planning and building on its own; this pretty much requires private enterprise What would you say about the question of where to locate industrial zones Because those can be clearly a powerful tool for lifting entire regions out of economic hardship; there have many critics in Bulgaria of locating such zones in bigger cities The Bozhurishte Industrial Zone is in Sofia while the zones that you manage are technically in smaller towns I will tell you what our strategy was when we picked the locations for these industrial zones The decisions were based on several factors the fact that the city of Plovdiv is a traditional industrial city and destination It has the universities and the labor resources and this provides comfort for the investors because this is a key factor these industrial zones can draw workers from a radius of 50 km The very proximity of the city of 350 000 plus the population of the smaller towns around – the Rakovski Municipality has some 30 000 people – provide sufficient labor resources When we started the Rakovski Industrial Zone some 3000 people were registered as unemployed the municipality manages to provide almost all workers for the industrial zones Engineers and specialists are easily found in Plovdiv It is important to have the industrial zones in smaller towns because – other than the hi-tech industries – the manufacturing generally requires a larger number of workers and if the plant is located in Sofia or Plovdiv the labor costs will be higher because the standard of living there is higher when ABB were considering the location for their Bulgarian plant Plovdiv was the most attractive place for them because of the diversity of the human resources in the region Their investment would not have worked out the way it did in terms of costs if they had to hire 500 people in Sofia There is a difference in the living standards Is there a difference between Northern and Southern Bulgaria with respect to their potential for industrial zones Our company also has one project in Northern Bulgaria The difference with the Plovdiv region in Southern Bulgaria is that the region has managed to preserve its vitality we checked that before we started the Rakovski Industrial Zone there was no exodus of people leaving for abroad or for Sofia or Plovdiv the local people did work in Plovdiv but hadn't left the town Our observations are that the situation in Northern Bulgaria are not exactly the same There have been great ideas for projects there but I am not sure that there are enough people there left for them What are Bulgaria's potential disadvantages for industrial zones development Is there a shortage of skilled or unskilled laborers The impressions that we have from our investors is that there is no shortage for the time being in terms of the number of laborers The quality of the skilled labor is a totally different problem What the investors have witnessed is that there was a moment of severing the tradition in the training of industrial specialists There was a period not so long ago when industry in Bulgaria was slack The consequences of that are not very good When a foreign company comes here and looks for engineering specialists people here usually have to undergo some kind of training Because it seems that university training in Bulgaria does not provide exactly what they are looking for what investors say is that apparently the mentality and approach of the Bulgarians are flexible enough and they are quick learners because the companies manage to build up very quickly the specialists they need and after that they are extremely happy with their work they say they have assembled great teams here and that their new Bulgarian staff are doing as good as people with years of experience in their home countries' factories This leads to something very positive – there are no people leaving them The Bulgarians working for such a company become narrow specialists our company always invested a lot in infrastructure This is the difference between Bulgaria and other European countries where with EU funds and methodology they managed to complete modern infrastructure For some reason the method of public-private partnerships did not work out properly in Bulgaria and we have great partnerships with the municipalities where our projects are located but that is on the level of general support We never managed to get EU funding for such a project as a PPP there was a PHARE Program for which many municipalities got excited But Bulgarian municipalities do not have proper resources and forming an industrial zone on time to get EU funding – this can hardly happen the municipalities don't have that kind of specialists and teams That is why PPPs are beneficial because the private investor can provide flexibility and the end product would benefit both the municipality and the private investors But in Bulgaria so far the projects have been either 100% state-owned or 100% private We could have achieved better results but I think that what we have achieved so far is not little It will be great to develop further the industrial sector because the crisis showed that countries with developed industries have been doing better Stefan Valdobrev and “The Usual Suspects” are among the most iconic bands on the modern Bulgarian music scene Stefan Komandarev was born in Sofia in 1966 He graduated from the French language high school in 1985 In this exclusive interview for Novinite.com with Jorge Araya SEE Area Director of British American Tobacco (BAT) bestselling author Meghan March delved into the profound impact her childhood and life experiences have had on her journey as a writer A year after India overtook China to become the world's most populous country its rapid upward economic trajectory and increasing diplomatic scientific and military weight make it an emerging superpower of ever-growing importance to the United States an this is the key to better promoting Bulgaria in front of the world on June 3rd the volunteers from the First Bulgarian Legion had their first taste of gunpowder by entering into a battle with the Turkish garrison in the Serbian capital Belgrade The formation of the Bulgarian armed contingent on Serbian land is associated with the new situation on the Balkan Peninsula between 1859 and 1860 the relations between Belgrade and Istanbul became quite tense The government organized a massive anti-Turkish propaganda in the Serbian capital and began to prepare for a military campaign against the Ottoman Empire The complicated international situation at the Balkans was wisely assessed by the great Bulgarian revolutionary Georgi Rakovsky who arrived in Belgrade in 1860 to accomplish his ideas and free Bulgaria from the Ottoman Yoke In the Serbian capital he began to publish “Dunavski Lebed/ Danube Swan”- the first revolutionary newspaper of Bulgarian emigrants In Belgrade Rakovski developed a plan that aimed at liberating Bulgarian people from the yoke According to this plan the future rebellion in Bulgaria should be made together with a military campaign of the Serbian army against the Ottoman Empire The Bulgarian patriot planned to create in Serbia a military squad of 1000 soldiers who had to make their way into Bulgarian territory after the beginning of the war between Serbia and the Turkish Empire They had to cross the ridge of Stara Planina Mountain and reach the Bulgarian capital Veliko Tarnovo where with the help of the previously created local committee they had to liberate the city and pronounce freedom of Bulgaria In 1862 Rakovski came up with a statute of the Interim Government which according to his plans had to head the whole military campaign He started negotiations with the Serbian officials and got a permission to organize a voluntary squad He used the pages of Dunavski lebed newspaper to call upon all who love Bulgaria in the spring of 1862 he summoned around 600 people in the Serbian capital who entered the First Bulgarian Legion In June 1862 the tension in Belgrade between Serbs and the Turks escalated On June 3rd a Serbian soldier was killed by Turkish warriors near a city fountain This murder was used by the local Serbs as a reason to start chasing all Turkish soldiers who were at that time outside their garrison which was situated in the Belgrade fortress When the battle began Rakovski was in the middle of his attempts to organize a rebellion that had to free Bulgaria In the beginning the Serbian authorities tried to stop the conflict and Rakovski received an order to retreat but the battles lasted through the whole night Most dramatic of all were the ones near Varosh Gate and Vidin Gate Bulgarian soldiers took part in those battles Georgi Rakovski and Ilio Voivoda locked themselves in a Serbian house near Varosh Gate and began shooting at the retreating Turks with the help of Serbian soldiers chased off the enemy near Kale Megdan armed with axes and mattocks began to destroy every Turkish guard Owing to the efforts of the Serbian government and the foreign diplomats In the same day soldiers from the Bulgarian legion brought all the weapons taken from the enemy to Rakovski They girded one of the trophy swords on his waist He hailed them with “Hello lads” and the reply was” Hurray long live Bulgaria and its brave soldiers!” In the early morning of June 17th the situation was peaceful until the Turkish artillery from the Belgrade fortress began to shoot at the city The shootings lasted four hours and a half and incurred complicated diplomatic crisis A number of battles started again in Belgrade Bulgarian volunteers also joined those battles According to memories of witnesses Rakovski was the one leading the Bulgarian troops They crossed nearby the Prussian council in Belgrade where they were greeted by the Prussian general council and later by Serbian soldiers with the hail “Long-live Bulgaria and the Bulgarian legion!” However there was no war between Serbia and the Ottoman Empire and later at the insistence of the government in Belgrade The second sitting from the left is Vassil Levski when the relations between Serbia and The Ottoman Empire worsened again and the Serbian government began to prepare for another battle The formation of both legions shows the writers of the Bulgarian national revival that the creation of a centre for control of the national liberation movement in other countries and binding the goals of our national revolution with foreign policies was a risky job the legions give a first taste of gunpowder to many future leaders of our movement for liberating the country Please disable adblocker to support this website Open Modalf