International Exhibition Centre in Bulgarian town of Plovdiv to be sold

The Sofia Echo, 6th July 2006

French and Italian companies specialising in congress tourism showed interest in buying Plovdiv International Fair exhibition centre, the fair's executive director Yordan Radev said.

Radev told 24 Chassa newspaper that over the past few years the fair attracted many foreign companies as it was the largest exhibition centre in South-Eastern Europe. He predicted that interest in the centre would increase after Bulgaria joined the EU.

The fair's board of directors had an ambitious programme to increase the fair's exhibition capacity but the project required fresh investment, Radev said.

According to the development strategy, the state would retain minority share, but the largest part of the shares would go to Plovdiv municipality and private companies. The privatisation strategy should be approved by the National Assembly and the Cabinet, 24 Chassa said.

Plovdiv businessman Georgi Gerov said that he planned to buy the fair's shares to prevent foreign ownership over the exhibition centre. Plovdiv businessmen should form a consortium and participate in the privatisation tender, as the town's economy depended on the exhibition centre, Gerov said.

Gerov owns 25 per cent of Puldin Tour Invest, the company in charge of managing 16 of the fair premises. The company aims at boosting cultural and congress tourism through restoration of architectural monuments in Plovdiv.



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